Life As We Know It
by Alexandria M
Summary: Audrey Romano and Roman Reigns realized they have put their lives on hold for their careers but one weekend together in NYC they realize they don't want to put their lives on hold anymore. Being best friends since high school they make a life changing decision as they realize one special thing is missing from their lives. What will happen after the decision is made?
1. Chapter 1

***Here is my new Roman story. It's going to be a little different but I hope you like it***

5 o'clock rolled around and Audrey started packing up her things. She was planning to take some work home to work on later in the night and over the weekend so that she could be prepared for the upcoming cases she had been working on for court hearings happening in the next week or two. Normally on a Friday night she would stay till almost 11 or 12 at her law firm working on everything to actually have a free weekend on Saturday and Sunday before she was back to everything early Monday morning but tonight was different she had plans for the first time in a while on a Friday night. She was putting her files into her briefcase when her work friend Scott came up to the door of her office. He knocks on the door taking her attention away from packing things up. "Hey, Scott," she says with a smile.

"Hey, Audrey," he says as he makes his way into her office. "You're leaving already?" he asks.

"Yeah, I have plans to see an old friend tonight," she says before putting her attention back onto packing up files. "I'm taking work home to do over the weekend."

"That's not like you," he says with a smile as he sits at the chair across from her desk. "You usually grind it out till midnight."

"Yeah but my friend wants to hang out for a little bit tonight," she says, "and I haven't seen him for a while so my work can wait until tomorrow morning."

"So it's a guy friend?" he asks curiously. "Is it a boyfriend?" he asks making her stop putting things away. She looked up at him with her dark brown eyes through her long thick eyelashes. "Is it?" he asks.

"Scott, you and I both know that I don't have time for a committed relationship. I probably haven't had a date since I was in law school," she says knowing that Scott has asked her out on a date multiple times since she arrived at the law firm. He wasn't bad looking he was quite handsome for his age being in his mid- 40's; he had silver hair and the most beautiful crystal blue eyes, divorced from his wife which he shared two children with and being in his mid- 40's he still found the time to work out and stay in shape, but Audrey wasn't looking for any type of relationship or commitment. She wasn't the dating type because dating always led to a relationship and then marriage all of which she didn't have time for in her life and her career but sometimes she felt like something was missing in her life. "You know my feelings on dates and boyfriends."

"I know," he says with a soft smile. "You've shot me down a few times but really, Audrey how bad would a relationship be between two powerful attorneys. I know where you're coming from and you know where I'm coming from. It's not like we don't have chemistry in the bedroom," he says making her smile knowing that they have had quite a few hook ups over the last couple years. He was her go to for a night of passion but that's as far as it went and she never stayed over that was her rule.

"Scott," she says, "I'm not interested in anything beyond the bedroom."

"Fair enough so is this a one night stand with this guy?" he asks.

"It's not even like that we're just friends. We've been friends since high school, he's my best friend. He's back in town for work for a couple days and he asked to hang out, invited me to his show and gave me tickets with backstage passes. Afterward we're having a couple drinks, that's it but then again I'm not sure why I am explaining my life to you." She picks up her briefcase after putting on her black jacket to match her black pants over her red blouse. "I'm going now but if I decide to have a late night hook up you'll be the first person I call," she says with a smile.

"Should I expect a call?" he asks standing up.

"I don't know maybe," she smiles. "I have to go. I will talk to you later," she says with a smile.

"All right," he says, "have a good night and have fun with your friend. I'll be waiting for your text or call," he says hopefully with a smile.

"Goodnight," she says with a smile before she walks out of her office as he follows her to head to his own office where she knew he would probably spend the next couple hours working.

Audrey didn't have a lot of time to spare if she wanted to make it to Madison Square Garden in time for the show to start. She had to be at the arena by 6:30 but with the Manhattan traffic of weekend tourists and business women and men getting out of work the streets of Manhattan were bumper to bumper. It was the least favorite part of her day dealing with the traffic it was nothing like her hometown of Pensacola, Florida but being in New York since she started college she was getting used to the traffic she just hated it but loved the city otherwise. She arrives at the arena around 6:15 after battling the traffic only to circle the arena to find a place to park. She finally parks her white Lexus RC F two blocks from the arena and walks to the show arriving just in time as the show starts.

Audrey is directed to her front row seat along with a few of the other WWE superstars' family members and friends. The crowd goes crazy most of the night cheering for Finn Balor, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and other members of the RAW roster. Audrey has never really been into WWE but she supports her best friend every chance she can because this was his dream. He always supported her to achieve her dreams of becoming an attorney. The main event is announced for the night and she gets her cellphone out to record Roman Reigns' entrance and to take pictures of his match against Bray Wyatt to show to him later. As soon as his music cues the audience does not take well to him. Madison Square Garden is filled with boos for him as he makes his way down the ramp but a few women start cheering for him and the women behind Audrey talk about how good looking and hot Roman Reigns is. They nearly deafen Audrey as they scream when he makes his way over to the front row. "Glad you could make it," he says with a smile before he gives her a quick hug before climbing into the ring.

"Oh my God," says one of the blonde girls drooling over Joe behind her. "You know Roman Reigns?"

"He's a friend," she says.

"How can you just be friends with Roman?" asks the other blonde. It's the same question she has been asked all her life since high school except she knows him as Joe not Roman as does everyone back home in Pensacola. All through high school they were inseparable they were always hanging out together many thought they were together but they were just friends, really good friends. When they would tell people they were just friends they always asked how could they be _just_ friends. Joe is not a bad looking man by any means and he wasn't bad looking in high school either. He was one of the stars on the football team, the popular jock everyone knew him because of football and his talent on the field but she didn't meet him in high school being a cheerleader which was the typical love connection jocks dated the cheerleaders or other athletes. Truth is she doesn't have an athletic bone in her body and definitely doesn't have the coordination to be a cheerleader or a dancer. She met Joe in high school as a member of the Key Club. Beyond his athletic ability and his good looks he's also intelligent and he has a caring soul. He too wanted to do service projects to better the community around them and to help others. They just clicked instantly but never looked at each other in any other way than just a friend. The attraction was never there and the same could be said for him he was never attracted to her in that way. They were soulmates but best friend soulmates. You just meet someone and you just click that's how it has always been with Joe and Audrey. They have a lot in common which is what helped their friendship grow stronger even beyond high school they remained friends both graduating at the top of their class he went to Georgia Tech to study business while she went to NYU to become a lawyer but his true heart had always been with wrestling. He was going to be a WWE superstar and he made it to the big time a few years ago and she couldn't have been more proud of him like he was of her when she got her job at one of the most powerful Law firms in New York.

"Because I know him beyond the looks?" she asks shaking her head and directing her attention back to Joe's match with Bray Wyatt. "Have a goodnight," she says as they continue to talk to her about her best friend.

After defeating Bray Wyatt in their match Roman makes his way around ringside to greet the fans only to be booed by many of them before he makes his way over to Audrey. The blonde girl behind her hands her a folded piece of paper to hand to Roman. Audrey hands it to Roman and he puts it in his pocket. "I'll see you backstage," he smiles before he makes his way to the back. Roman makes his way to through the back and to his locker room to get himself ready to hang out with Audrey for the night. He grabs a quick shower and changes into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before brushing through his long gorgeous mane of hair.

"What are you doing tonight?" asks his best friend Dean Ambrose. "You want to hit the town and find some girls to take back to the hotel?" he asks.

"Not tonight. I have plans," he answers as he puts his Timberlands on. "I'll have to pass on that tonight. Actually," he says. "Here's the number of two girls that would be glad to have a night with Dean Ambrose," he says passing Dean the folded piece of paper with the blonde girls' phone numbers.

"You don't want to hang out with them?" he asks.

"Nah, not tonight," he says with a smile. "I have plans with my friend Audrey."

"Audrey huh? Is Audrey going to experience some of the Reigns Magic tonight or is this a thing between you two?" he asks with a smile.

"It's not even like that," he says. "We're just friends. She's an old friend from Florida that lives here now. It's been a while since I've seen her. I wanted to spend some time with her before I hit the road on Sunday morning."

"I see," he says, "you never hooked up with her?" he asks. "Because I saw her sitting in the front row tonight and I would definitely hook up with her."

Joe lets out a little chuckle. "She's beautiful I know," he says. He always found Audrey to be beautiful. She was full Italian with the most beautiful dark eyes he had seen and the most beautiful eyelashes with scarlet lips, olive skin and long black curly hair but as beautiful as she was he never found himself attracted to her in a romantic way. "But it's not even like that with us. We're just best friends."

"I see," he says. "What are you two going to do?"

"I don't know probably just hang out, have some drinks and eat," he says. "I don't think we have a plan to do anything other than that."

"Sounds like a good evening," he says picking up his bag. "Well, I'm going to go give these girls a call. If you change your mind you know where I'm at," he says.

"Thanks," says Joe. "Have a good night."

"You too," he says with a smile before he leaves their locker room.

Joe gathers up his things and walks out of the locker room after putting on his hoodie to meet Audrey. Audrey was waiting for him near the entrance and she was beautiful. She smiles at him as he makes his way over to her. "Hey," she says with a smile.

"Hey," he smiles back before embracing her in a hug. "It's been a while."

"Too long," she says with a smile. "You looked good out there."

"Thanks," he says with a smile. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"I enjoyed seeing you doing your thing," she smiles. "You know wrestling isn't my thing but seeing my best friend live his dream is. You have come so far."

"Thanks," he says. "Sorry it took me so long. I had to grab a quick shower."

"It's cool," she says, "there's no rush we have a couple days to catch up."

"You're right," he says with a smile, "so what do you want to do?" he asks as he opens the arena door for her as they walk out into the cool November air.

"I don't know," she says, "I thought we could go grab some burgers and fries or maybe a pizza."

"I'm down for pizza," he says as they walk to Audrey's car.

"I figured you would be," she smiles. "Let me guess, Hawaiian pizza?"

"You know me," he says with a smile.

"We'll stop at my favorite pizza place on the way to my penthouse."

"Sounds good," he says. "How far did you park from the arena?"

"Just two blocks," she shrugs. "I couldn't find a place any closer so I had to park here," she says pointing to her Lexus.

"I've come so far? Look at you Ms. Romano, I think you're the one making out better than us all," he smiles.

"I guess," she says opening the trunk for him to put his stuff in before she got into the driver's seat. Joe closed up the trunk and got into the passenger's side. "It's not too bad being an attorney."

"I guess not," he says buckling his seatbelt before she pulled out into the traffic of the New York night life. Audrey stops at her favorite pizza place on their way to her penthouse apartment to pick up their pizza. Audrey pulls into the parking garage of her building to park the car when they arrive at her apartment complex. Joe gets his things out of the trunk as Audrey waits for him holding the pizza. They make their way inside and Audrey puts in her passcode to get into the building and to ride the elevator to her penthouse apartment. The doors open to the foyer of her apartment and she opens her door leading them inside. Joe lets out a whistle. "You're living the life," he says looking around at the expensive apartment decorated by one of the best decorators in the city.

"You've never been here before have you?"

"Nah," he says.

"I'll give you a tour later," she smiles, "but first let's eat. I'm starving."

"Me too," he says. Audrey takes the pizza into the living room places it on the table while Joe puts his things down by the couch.

"Do you want a beer?" she asks.

"Yeah," he says. She takes off her jacket and hangs it up by the door before she goes into the kitchen to get napkins, plates and each of them a beer from her fridge. She brings everything back to the living room and she hands him the beer. "Thanks," he says as she takes a seat next to him on the floor it's like old times. "So how's work going for you?" he asks as they get their pizza.

"Busy but good, I love it, Joe. I spend a lot of time at the firm working."

"I bet," he says, "you've always been a hard worker."

"I know," she says with a smile before taking a bite of her pizza. "I take it Hawaiian Pizza is still your favorite?"

"It always will be," he says with a smile. "I like to argue a point that pineapple does indeed go on pizza."

"That's debatable," she says with a smile, "my dad would disagree."

"Because your dad is one of the best Italian chefs there ever was in Pensacola."

"That's true but he had a lot of training in Italy," she says, "and in Italy they don't make pizza like this. This is New York style pizza. I'm more partial to Italian pizza."

"I'm sure," he smiles. "How is your dad doing anyway and your mom?"

"They're pretty good," she says. "My dad's business is doing well, the restaurant is doing great. They're pretty excited. They're about to be grandparents again."

"That's awesome," he says, "he ready to give up the restaurant business yet?"

"I don't think he's ever going to give up the restaurant business and even if he does you know Antonio is going to take over the business."

"That's true," he says.

"What about your mom and dad?" she asks. "How are they doing?"

"They're doing all right. They are still dealing with the loss of my brother this is a hard time of year for them."

"I'm sorry about your brother," she says.

"I am too," he says softly. "So what's going on in your life? Any boyfriends I should know about?" he asks.

"I have a cat," she says with a smile, "that's about it."

"A cat huh?"

"That's all I have time for pretty much. I don't have time to manage a relationship. You know that. My mom and dad are on my case. They say at 31 I should be married with kids by now but I don't have the energy for a husband or all that."

"I hear you," he says.

"Do you have any girlfriends? I would imagine you do even though those two girls behind me were ready to have your babies tonight," she jokes with him.

"I don't have time for that, Audrey. You know me. I just like to play the field. No wives, no girlfriends just a life of travel and I don't even have a cat or a dog. It's just me in Tampa when I get home for those two days a week."

"Playing the field is always good," she says with a smile. "No strings attached that's how it should be that's all I have time for."

"We're a mess you know that?" he asks jokingly.

"Yeah but I'm happy," she says.

"Me too," he says with a smile as they continue to talk over pizza and beer.

Audrey gives Joe a tour of her penthouse apartment after they finish eating their pizza. When they make their way back into the living room Joe walks over to her bookshelf and finds the 4 yearbooks from high school. He pulls out their senior yearbook. "Aw, senior year," he says as he sits down on the couch next to her as she takes a swig of her beer. "That was a good year."

"It was," she says. "I miss high school sometimes. I think I just miss being in Pensacola sometimes it's been 2 years since I went home."

"You don't even go home on holidays?" he asks.

"What are holidays?" she asks as he flips through the yearbook. "I work all the time."

"I see," he says, "I used to get Christmas off but this year we work on Christmas so I won't be with my family on Christmas this year."

"That sucks," she says.

"I know," he says as he looks at the Who's Who section. "Well, you were voted most likely to succeed," he says.

"Right, I succeeded all right but I'm not married and I don't have kids. I love my job but sometimes I feel like something is missing. Do you ever feel that way?"

"Sometimes," he says. "What's missing?" he asks.

"A kid," she says. "Sometimes I want to have a baby. I mean I'm 31 years old. I'm getting older and I just want to have a kid before it's too late."

"You want a baby?" he asks.

"I want a baby but not everything that comes along with it," she says, "so I'll probably just be the crazy aunt that spoils her nieces and nephews with 500 cats."

"What goes along with a baby, Audrey?" he asks closing the yearbook.

"You know the marriage, the life-long commitment of being involved with the same guy, relationship everything that I don't want," she says.

"Not really," he says looking at her as she hands him her beer so he can take a swig. "It's 2017, Audrey more and more women are waiting to have children and many of those women are doing it on their own without the marriage and the romance. A lot of women are choosing artificial insemination," he suggests. "I say if you don't want the commitment of a man then that's probably the best way to go then you won't have to worry about all that other stuff just your baby."

"Isn't that kind of weird?" she asks. "I don't know if I want some random guy I don't even know, have their sperm injected into my vagina. That's weird."

"It's not that weird, they have men that are willing to donate their sperm to sperm banks. You can even buy sperm offline."

"The fact you know so much about artificial insemination and buying sperm online is frightening. And why would I order sperm off the internet. That's creepy and I don't know how safe that is. I'd rather go to a fertility clinic to get this done is it safe? Like there are no diseases right?"

"I'm sure fertility clinics monitor the sperm donated and the men donating it. I'm sure it's safe. You should look into it."

"I guess it's worth a shot," she says. "But I don't want to do this alone," she says. "Will you look into it with me?" she asks.

"I guess," he says, "if you want me to."

"Please?" she asks with a soft smile.

"Okay," he smiles, "I'll help you look into it but that can wait until tomorrow morning. I need some sleep."

"You're right," she says, "it can wait. We'll look into it tomorrow. I'm ready for bed too." She gets up and he gets up with her. She takes her beer bottle to the kitchen empties it out and tosses it into the recyclables before she turns off the lights in the kitchen. She leads him to her bedroom and changes into a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants as he strips out of his jeans. She climbs into bed and he climbs into bed next to her. "Thank-you," she says.

"For what?" he asks.

"For being the best, best friend in the world and looking into this with me," she says. "You're pretty awesome."

"Thanks," he says with a smile. "I think you're pretty awesome too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she says with a smile before she closes her eyes and soon falls asleep next to her best friend.

 ***A/N: What do you think? Do you like it? Do you want more and is it a keeper? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

***Thank-you to everyone that favorited, followed, alerted and reviewed this story. I greatly appreciate it. Thank-you so much***

Audrey woke up the next morning as the November sun shined through her bedroom window. She let out a moan as she sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes to adjust to the light. She noticed that Roman was missing from his spot on the bed. She picked her phone up off the nightstand to see she had 4 missed calls and 5 unread texts from Scott and groaned. She didn't bother to read them and put her phone back down on the night stand after seeing it was 8 in the morning. She got out of bed and walked over to her dresser. She pulled out a pair of purple NYU sweatpants and a white and purple NYU hoodie. She got dressed before pulling her hair up into a messy bun resting on the top of her head before walking out of the bedroom of her penthouse. Roman wasn't in the penthouse and she figured he went out to work out or went out to check out the city. She made herself coffee and poured herself a bowl of cereal before she sat down on her couch to watch TV. It had been a while since she started a Saturday morning off as carefree as she was that day. She started to watch a show on Netflix as she ate breakfast.

Roman walked into the penthouse shortly after she sat started watching her show. "Where'd you go?" she asked before taking a bite of her cereal.

"I went to work out," he answered as he took his jacket off and hung it up by the door. "I didn't want to wake you up. You seemed so content sleeping I wanted to let you sleep in," he said as he walked over to the couch.

"Thanks," she said. "I never really sleep much. Sleeping until 8 is the longest I have slept in a while. I'm always working."

"I bet," he said taking a seat next to her on the couch. "I know the life of no sleep too. This is my first weekend off in months. It feels good to spend it with you. I only get a day or two off a week but then sometimes I have media appearances some that have me up at 5 in the morning after driving into the town after a late night show, morning workouts it's demanding."

"I hear that," she said with a smile as she placed her legs on his lap. "What's it like being famous and having all these girls worshipping you?"

"It's a bit over the top sometimes like the girls that gave me their numbers last night. That's what I deal with on the daily. There is a woman in some town we call the butt cheek bandit."

"The butt cheek bandit?" she asked with amusement. "What the hell is a butt cheek bandit?"

"You know we used to come out through the crowd and there was a fan she grabbed my butt as I came through the crowd. We call her the butt cheek bandit." Audrey let out the biggest laugh. "I was like what the hell, it definitely caught me off guard. I don't understand these women. If I ever chose to have a relationship with anyone it wouldn't be with one of these girls that know Roman Reigns it would be with someone that knows Joe. Most of those girls are after my looks or my money. I'm not about that life," he said. "I would choose a hometown girl for sure."

"They know nothing about you but what they read on the internet and see on TV. I've known you since high school and I know everything about you even the dark stuff about you."

"That's true," he said with a smile, "just like I know everything about you. I couldn't have asked for a better best friend than you."

"Same," she said, "do you want some cereal? Or some coffee?"

"I'll pass," he said, "Cocoa Puffs aren't my thing," he said with amusement. "I can't believe you're still eating Cocoa Puffs after all these years."

"Shut up. You know it's my favorite cereal I will never give it up but I have other cereal and there are eggs, turkey bacon and sausage in fridge and freezer if that's what you want."

"Do you have Lucky Charms?" he asked.

"Would I not have Lucky Charms knowing my best friend was coming for a visit and that's his favorite cereal?" she asked with a smile. "In the cupboard by the fridge," she said with a smile before he got up and got himself some cereal.

"So what's on the agenda today?" he asked as he sat down after getting himself some cereal. "You have to do some work? I don't want to take you from your work," he said.

"I can catch up on work tomorrow," she answered. "Today and tonight are all about you. Do you want to go sight-seeing and enjoying the city?"

"That sounds like a plan," he said.

"And tonight we can go out to a club or something like we used to do. Are you down for that?"

"Always," he said with a smile.

"Good, I will take you to the best club in town just don't get old on me tonight, Joe," she said with a smile. "But we have to also look into this artificial insemination thing too."

"Right," he said, "are you sure you want to do that now? You're only 31 years old are you sure you want to make this decision now? What if you meet Mr. Right in the next couple years and get married even if you say you don't want it you know you can't stop fate from happening. If you meet someone that's the one you're going to marry them and then he wants to start a family but you have a child from artificial insemination? I'm not shooting down the idea," he said, "I'm just saying are you sure a lot could happen before you hit menopause. You could still fall in love, get married and start a family the natural way."

"I don't expect that to happen, Joe. Besides I don't want a marriage I want to have a baby and that's it. My cat, the baby and I will be just fine," she smiled. "I don't plan on meeting Mr. Right if I was going to meet him I would have met him already. I would have to be with someone for 5 years before I ever thought about marriage and in 5 years I will be 36 and I would want 2 years of marriage before I have a baby so we're looking at 38 years old. Now is the time to do this and I really want to do it."

"Okay," he said, "I support you. I want you to be happy, Audrey. I always have. If this is what you want to do I will be by your side every step of the way but what do you think your mom and dad are going to say?"

"Does it matter what they say? It's my life, Joe. It's my decision."

"Good point," he said. "In any case, Audrey I think you'll be a great mom and any child will be happy and lucky to have you for a mom. You're going to kill this mom thing."

"I hope so," she smiled as she finished her cereal. "I don't want to fuck it up."

"I'm sure that you won't," he said as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen to clean out her coffee cup and her bowl. She put it in the sink and made her way back to the living room. She pulled out her laptop so she could do some research on artificial insemination while Joe was with her.

"There is so much debate on artificial insemination and the single woman," she said as she reads over articles. "I mean many people ask if it's ethical for a single woman to be artificially inseminated. I think it's bad ass for women to do this," she said, "but here is one good point what if I use donor sperm not knowing where it came from and my child marries or meets a sibling from another single woman and they fall in love, marry and have children that's too weird for me. I don't know how I would feel about all of that. I mean I want to do this but that scares me what if that would happen."

"The chances of that happening are highly unlikely, Audrey. Do you know how many people are out in the world? The likelihood of your child falling in love with a sibling they don't know about is highly unlikely."

"But it could happen," she argued, "and that's weird. I don't want to tell my child they need to have DNA test done before they have sex with someone and what if the donor lies and is a deadbeat I don't want those types of genes for my child."

"Well, usually donors are anonymous," he responded. "There is no telling if they tell the truth or not."

"Don't you think it's weird some random man just offers to donate sperm to several women and wants no part in their child's life?" she asked.

"Audrey, that's what artificial insemination is about. You can't look at it like that. You have to look at it like a generous man that is willing to help out single women achieve their dream of motherhood," he said.

"I guess," she said. "I would feel better knowing where the sperm was coming from."

"I see," he said with a nod before he got up to take his bowl to the kitchen. He came back into the living room and took a seat next to her. "Do you know what you're looking for?"

"Joe, this isn't like going to the grocery store and picking out broccoli or lettuce I am picking out my child's father or sperm donor."

"I know," he said. "But what qualities are you looking for your child to have? Do you want a biracial child, Italian, French, Greek, athletic or intelligent and so on," he suggested.

"I mean of course I want a child that is driven, passionate about life and passionate about their future. I want a child that's intelligent but also kind. I would love for them to have some athletic genes in them because I am not athletic at all," she said. "I don't know this is hard and ethnicity doesn't really matter much to me. Not everything has to be about that. I'm nervous about just picking an anonymous donor anyone can lie about their background. I wish I could find someone that would be willing to help me. And this whole thing is a process and not a cheap one. It could cost up to $2500 depending on attempts and procedure. They also suggest using fertility drugs to help with the process. It's not like I don't have the money for it because I do it's just a more in depth process than I thought it would be. I thought it was as simple as getting sperm inserted into my vagina but it is a lot more than that. I have to find a fertility clinic, they have to monitor my menstrual cycle, take fertility drugs and then choose my donor. Most times it doesn't even work on the first attempt it could take at least 2 or 3 attempts for it to happen. I never knew it would be so much."

"I would understand monitoring your menstrual cycle," he said, "they want to make sure you don't have any fertility issues and everything is regular." He said this with no embarrassment or discomfort. He was comfortable discussing this type of female stuff with Audrey because they had always been open with each other most of the time too open with each other. He had even bought her feminine products when she needed them when they were younger and bought her Midol. He was the best male friend anyone could ask for. Audrey was grateful for him. She was closest to him than anyone else.

"I get that," she said, "I just thought it would happen next week I was wrong."

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "It's going to take some time but you know you could always do it the old fashioned way and I'm sure you're going to need to cut your birth control before you begin the process."

"That's true," she said, "and no I'm good not doing it the old fashioned way. I love sex as much as the next person but I don't have sex to have a baby besides that's a commitment that I don't wish to have."

"I get it," he said. "Because a baby isn't a commitment at all or anything."

"A cat is a commitment too and I do well taking care of my cat," she said with a smile, "I can handle a baby. I just don't want marriage and all that shit that comes with a baby."

"Right," he said.

They sat silently for a few minutes as Audrey continued to read about the process of artificial insemination. She was feeling uneasy and uncomfortable with the thought of using a random stranger's sperm. She felt that they could deceive women into believing they are great men but really have serial killer genes in their system or aggressive genes inside of them. She wanted to know where her child's father was from, wanted to know an honest background about its father. She didn't know who she would ask but she wanted to ask someone that would understand her choice. "Joe," she said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"You know you're my best friend right?"

"Of course," he said. "There isn't a girl I love more than you and you're my best friend forever. What's up, Audrey?" he asked suspiciously. He knew Audrey well and knew she was contemplating something and he knew she was going to ask him to do something for her.

"I was thinking about this artificial insemination thing and I am really uncomfortable using an anonymous sperm donor and want the sperm to come from someone I know and love. I was hoping or wondering," she began, "would you be able to help me out with this?"

"You want to use my sperm?" he asked and he wasn't shocked. It's not like he hadn't thought about offering it to her in fact if she had chosen to use a stranger's sperm he was going to offer his own because she knew him and he knew her. She knew where he came from and what kind of person he was.

"Only if you want to," she said, "I'm not going to force you to do it but I was wondering if you would be willing to donate your sperm. I mean I think we would have a beautiful kid together and I know your history and I know where your family comes from. I'm not asking you to be involved in the child's life or anything just to help me conceive the child. Would you be willing to help me out?" she asked sincerely.

"Audrey, are you sure you want to do this? It's not like we're strangers when I come to visit you I would see the baby and if we're back in Pensacola everyone will know it's our child together. Is that what you want? It's not like using a stranger I would still see the baby."

"I get that. If you don't feel comfortable doing that then I will use a stranger. If you want to we can work out all the details. I'm an attorney we could set up something I don't know."

"I would do anything to help you out, Audrey you know that. I just think that it's different if it comes from me. I mean I think I would still want a part of its life and I would always be curious. I don't know. Can I think about it and get back to you about it?"

"Yeah," she answered. "You think about it and let me know if you're willing to help me out but right now let's get ready to go out and enjoy the city. I'm going to take you to all my favorite places and have you meet some of my friends here. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good," he said with a smile and she couldn't help but look at his features. She had known him for years but this is the first time she saw how beautiful he was. How handsome he was. He had the perfect face, the perfect lips, the perfect hair. He was as close to perfection as any man could get. She thought about his athletic ability and thought about his intelligence. He was perfect and she hoped he would be willing to help her out but she wouldn't be heartbroken or upset if he chose not to.

Audrey and Joe spent the cool November day out in the city of New York. Audrey took him to Central Park where they enjoyed dirty water hot dogs, a carriage ride through the park together before they spent some time shopping in some of the stores in Manhattan. Audrey took him to dinner at one of her favorite Italian restaurants in the city and paid for the meal so Joe told her he would cover the drink charges at the club so she didn't have to pay for everything they did for the day. Audrey took him to meet her friends and to show him where she worked before they went back to her apartment to get ready for their night out. They spent the day laughing and enjoying each other's company it had been a long time since they had hung out like this. She loved every minute of it and realized that it was probably time for her to go home to see her family. They had been asking for her to come for Thanksgiving so she made the decision to go home to see them over Thanksgiving and hopefully over Christmas.

Later that night Audrey and Joe walked into the best night club in New York City. It was tough to get in but with Joe's WWE status they were pushed through the line and offered VIP status but Joe refused it and they took a seat at the bar. He ordered them a drink before they started to talk. "I thought about it, Audrey," he said as they drank their drinks.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I'm going to do it. I'm going to donate my sperm so that you can have a baby."

"Joe, thank-you!" she said with excitement before she threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "You have no idea how much this means to me." He smiled at her excitement and happiness. "I will love you forever!"

"You're welcome," he said as he hugged her back. "I meant what I said you're going to be a kick ass mom."

"Thanks," she said with a smile, "but I think you would make a kick ass dad too," she said.

"Would I really be dad or just some guy that comes around to visit sometimes?"

"I don't know we can discuss all those details later and how we want this to work out. Will you come to my appointment at the fertility clinic with me?"

"Every step of the way," he said with a smile before taking a sip of his drink. "What do you think our parents would say?" He couldn't deny that they would have a beautiful child together Audrey was beyond beautiful. He looked at her as she stood in her white strapless dress that was snug to her tiny body. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever met if she hadn't been an attorney she was headed to New York or Los Angeles to be a model. She had a lot of boys falling for her in high school but she never dated anyone in high school because she stayed focus on school. He wasn't sure she had even dated in college or outside of college she had never been about that life. She was more driven and more focused. He hoped their child or her child would be as driven as she was.

"That they always expected it," she said before she laughed, "I don't really know."

"Audrey," said a male's voice that she recognized came from beside her as she talked to Joe. She turned to see that it was Scott.

"Hey," she said before taking a sip of her drink. "What are you doing here?"

"I decided to go out," he said. "What are you doing here?" he asked and his eyes went straight to Joe.

"Showing my friend one of the best night clubs in the city," she said. "Scott, this is my friend Joe, Joe, this is my friend Scott," she introduced him as a friend because that's all he was to her. He was nothing more. "We work together."

"Nice to meet you," said Joe as he extended his hand to Scott.

"Are you fucking him?" asked Scott. "Is that why you didn't answer my texts or my calls? Because you're fucking him?"

"Who is this asshole?" asked Joe.

"Calm down," said Audrey knowing Joe's temper. "Scott, what's your problem how much have you been drinking?" she asked.

"Are you fucking him, Audrey?" he asked again ignoring her question but she knew the answer it was on his breath. He had too much to drink which led her to believe his ex-wife had done something to cause him to drink excessively it happened more often than it should have. She tried to tell him in the past he had a problem but he refused and denied it but it was evident.

"Scott," she said, "let's talk," she said taking him by the hand.

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Joe.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'll be right back," she said and he nodded still worried about her as he watched her walk out of the club with Scott. She stepped out into the cold November evening leaving the sound of the blaring music behind her. She guided Scott to an empty alley next to the club. He caught her off guard by kissing her roughly, too rough and she pushed him away. "What are you doing, Scott?"

"I waited for you to call me last night and I waited for a text from you but didn't get one. I called you and texted you but you never answered," he said drunkenly. "I thought we were going to spend the night together."

"I said maybe but I have a friend staying with me and we were talking last night. We haven't seen each other for a while. I was spending time with him and it would have been rude of me to bail on him to come sleep with you or to text you back."

"How long is he going to be in town for?" he asked.

"Until tomorrow evening. I don't know why any of this should matter to you," she argued. "You are not my boyfriend and who I hang out with shouldn't be any of your business."

"But you're in my bed every weekend," he said.

"That means nothing, Scott and you know it, that's just sex," she said as she crossed her arms and leaned up against the wall. "How much did you drink tonight?" she asked.

"I don't' know," he answered.

"Too much you have a problem, Scott, you need to get help."

"I don't need any help, Audrey," he said as he caged her against the wall. "I need you. Come back to my apartment tonight please?" he begged.

"I can't," she said, "I have company and I'm not going to bail on him to have sex with you."

"Because you're fucking him, Audrey, admit it you're fucking him."

"Scott, you need to calm down," she said hearing the bitterness and anger in his tone. "I'm not fucking anyone but you. You just said it yourself every weekend I am in your bed. And even if I was fucking him it wouldn't be your business we're not together, Scott. I am free to do whatever I want. What we have is just fun, it's just sex," she said looking up at him with her thickly lashed dark eyes as he cupped her cheek. "Just relax okay?"

"Audrey, I can't do this shit anymore. I can't just have this friends with benefits no strings attached life. I want more from it. I want more from you. I want the relationship, the flowers the cards and the candy. I want to marry you someday and have kids with you someday. I want a life with you. I don't just want sex with you. You deserve more than that."

"Scott," she said as her breath caught in her throat and for the first time in her life her stomach fluttered. "No. How many times do I need to tell you no? I don't want that. I don't want that life," she repeated as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I don't want it."

"Audrey, come on," he said, "I'm desperate here. I'm dying here. I've gone crazy the last 24 hours knowing you're with some other guy a good looking guy at that and not with me. It has driven me crazy. I have never wanted anyone as much as I want you, Audrey, can't you see that?" he asked with desperation. "I need you, I want you, Audrey, please," he begged. "I want more than just sex. I promise I would be the best boyfriend you ever had," he said.

"I never had a boyfriend," she said looking into his blue eyes, "and I don't plan to ever have one. I live my life the way it is. I don't want the strings attached and I don't want the hassle of having a committed relationship with someone. You have to take what I'm willing to give you, Scott. Don't ask me for more. This is ALL that I can and ALL that I am willing to give you," she said as she felt his other hand on her hip. "Please, Scott, just…" she said before she was interrupted with his lips on hers. She tried to resist him, tried to fight it but she softened and kissed him back. The passion in his kiss was powerful she brought her hand to his hair and tugged it softly as she kissed him back, his hand in her hair as he kissed her softly with a deep passion. He pulled away leaving her breathless. "Scott," she said. "I can't do this."

"At least come home with me tonight, please," he begged.

"No, Scott," she said as she gained control of her balance and caught her breath. "I have to go. We will talk about this on Monday. Be careful getting home," she said before she walked away. Scott kicked a trashcan over in the alleyway as she disappeared from sight. He was filled with raw anger and jealousy. He was hurt and confused how could he want so much from her but she wanted nothing from him. He walked out from the alley and hailed a taxi to take him back to his apartment where he spent the night drowning his sorrows in more alcohol. Audrey walked back into the club and found Joe at the bar drinking his drink. "I need another drink," she said to the bartender, "and make it strong."

"You okay?" asked Joe. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"I'm confused, Joe. Scott just asked for more and I just can't give him more yet I feel something for him if that makes sense," she said. "I just can't give him more."

"So you friend zoned the guy?" he asked.

"We're a little more than friends," she said, "we're friends with benefits."

"Gotcha," he said with a nod as the bartender gave her a drink. "Do you want more with him?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I don't know," she took a long swig of her drink. "I thought I had it all figured out, Joe but I don't."

"You're 31," he said with a smile. "You need to do what makes you happy, what makes you smile. Fuck everyone else. Do you want a relationship or want more?"

"Not really," she said, "yet I kind of do. I'm so confused."

"You'll figure it out, Baby Girl," he said with a smile as she smiled back at him. "You know I'm always here for you when you need to talk."

"I know and I appreciate that," she smiled. "I'm sorry about him he has a drinking problem and gets too carried away with drinking."

"Then maybe you have your answer right there," he said. "You don't need to be involved with a guy with a drinking problem it will only tear you down. You know what I mean. I lived that life. Any type of addict will bring you down don't waste your time, Audrey. You deserve better believe me. I never thought I did until I walked away from it."

"I know," she said before taking a swig of her drink. "You're right. I know what I want and I know what I'm going to do with my life. I don't need Scott to fuck it up or fuck up my plans."

"That's right," he said with a smile. "You're such a strong willed girl you know if we have a girl she's bound to be just as strong willed as you are."

"I think you might be right," she said with a smile. "God help me," she said, "imagine me fighting with a tiny version of myself on a daily basis over something like pants or shoes. I can't even imagine I hope to have a boy you think I can choose the gender?"

"I doubt it," he said with a smile. "So you brought me here let's go enjoy the night," he said extending his hand. "Dance with me."

"Um you know I don't dance," she said. "It's not my best attribute I have no rhythm."

"But I love it when you dance," he said. "Come on let's have fun tonight and worry about life in the morning."

"Okay," she agreed before she joined him in dancing. They had a great night together and soon enough their weekend together was over too soon. And the moment he left Sunday night she found herself missing him.

 ***A/N: What do you think of Audrey's friendship with Joe? What do you think of their friendship as a whole? What do you think about Audrey's decision to be artificially inseminated, did you understand some of her concerns? What about Joe donating his sperm to help out Audrey? How do you think that will work out for them? What did you think about Scott? Do you think Scott is over the top and what did you think about him opening up to Audrey like he did? What do you think Audrey's issue is with having a committed relationship with someone? Is it fear or is it just her personality? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

Audrey was in her office getting her things ready for court that morning because she had a big case she was defending. She spent her entire weekend with Joe that after he left the night before she finally sat down to prep everything she needed. She was looking over the case one last time before she was going to the courthouse. She looked up when there was a knock on the door. "Scott," she said. "I don't really have time to talk right now," she said as she started to pack things up. "I have to get to the courthouse."

"Did your boyfriend leave?" he asked.

"He's not my boyfriend, he's just a friend, my best friend. Why does it matter anyway?"

"I'm just curious," he said. "I'm sorry about the other night, Audrey."

"I'm sorry too," she said, "but I meant what I have been saying all this time. You have a problem, Scott and you need to get some help. You want more and you want all this from me but you have a drinking problem, Scott. I'm not getting involved with that or you. I don't want more, I never did want more. I like things the way they are."

"Please just give me a chance to prove to you that I can be more," he said. "I promise, Audrey I will be everything you ever dreamed of."

"That's the problem, Scott. I never dreamed of having that life. I never wanted a relationship, I've never had one and I don't plan to have one now. I don't know how many times I have to tell you this and why you keep pushing it. I don't want a relationship and if I did I wouldn't have one with a man that can't figure out he has a drinking problem. That was embarrassing the other night and you offended Joe," she said, "now I have to get ready to go or I'm going to be late."

"Audrey, why are you getting so upset?"

"Because you aren't taking no for an answer. This is the last time I'm going to say it. I don't want a relationship and the only thing I want is what we already have. It's less complicated and I'm tired I barely got any sleep this weekend and I was up all night prepping for this case. I have to go, Scott."

"Audrey, can we have dinner tonight? Let me make it up to you," he said.

"Scott, I guess. I have to go and we have things to talk about anyway," she said grabbing her things. Audrey hurried passed Scott and made her way out of her office building where she caught a cab to the courthouse. She arrived in time just as they were being called into the courtroom. She didn't like not being able to talk things over with her client first but Scott delayed her and the daily traffic in the city held her up longer than she wanted to be.

Audrey spent most of her day at the courthouse defending her client and successfully her client was found innocent of the charges against him. Audrey was one of the most powerful and successful attorneys in the state of New York. She had a very good success rate when it came to getting her clients off. It was a long day for her and she didn't feel like spending the night with Scott after everything that happened over the weekend, he was too possessive of something he didn't have but she needed to talk to him to let him know what her plans were with Joe. He did have the right to know and the sooner he knew the better it would be. Audrey made her way back to the office to pick up her car from the parking garage and then made her way to Scott's house just outside of the city. She pulled into his driveway and parked her car before she got out. She let out a deep breath before she made her way to his front door. She rang the bell and shortly after Scott opened the door. "Audrey," he smiled.

"Scott," she said as he let her into the house. She took off her jacket and hung it by the door in the foyer and laid her purse down on the table by the foyer. "It smells good in here, what's for dinner?"

"I decided I was going to cook for you," he said surprising her.

"You cooked me dinner?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes I have to make up for the other night. I was completely out of line," he said as they walked to the dining room they were going to share dinner together. "I was an ass and I'm sorry."

"You were a pretty big ass," she said, "but we really have things to talk about."

"We'll get to that," he said, "would you like some wine?"

"Please," she said with a smile as she looked at the dining room table. He was doing too much. He had made them alfredo fettucine for dinner, two candles were lit at the table and two wine glasses were sitting on the table. Scott walked over and poured them each a glass of wine before he pulled her chair out for her. She took a seat as he took a seat across from her. "Dinner looks good, I didn't know you knew how to cook Italian."

"I did my best," he said, "but I must confess I actually got it from a box and followed those instructions I'm sure it's nothing like you can make."

"Probably not," she said with a smile, "but you put effort into it and I'm starving it's been a long day."

"Tell me about it," he said as they put fettucine on their plates. "How did court go today?"

"It went well, we won and my client was found innocent. It was a pretty good day. The judge was tough," she said before taking a sip of her wine before digging into her dinner.

"Which judge did you have?"

"O'Hara," she said.

"Ooh, she is tough," he said as he ate. "Did you enjoy your weekend?"

"I did. Did you enjoy yours?" she asked.

"It would have been better if we spent some time together," he said, "but it was pretty good."

"That's good and I'm sorry. I had a friend over and we haven't seen each other for a while. He's actually coming back tomorrow," she said, "He's going to stay a day or two and then we're going to Pensacola for Thanksgiving next week. This is really good by the way."

"Thank-you," he said, "why is he coming back tomorrow?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she said. "He will probably be visiting a lot."

"You're together aren't you? That's why you're going back to Pensacola for Thanksgiving so you can tell your parents and have him meet your parents right? And you're telling me that our time is done right?"

"It's a little more complicated than that but we aren't together we're just friends, best friends actually. He's been my number one go to and best friend since high school. He has already met my parents and I have met his. His parents love me and my parents love him. I'm going back to Pensacola because I haven't been there for years and I would love to see my family and also because Joe and I have some things to tell our parents."

"What's going on, Audrey?" he asked as he throws back the wine in his glass. "What aren't you telling me?"

Audrey takes a sip of her wine she wasn't sure how Scott was going to react to her news about having a baby. She knew it wasn't going to be a good reaction because she was telling him no that she didn't want more but she was willing to have a child with her best friend. "I just want you to keep an open mind," she said.

"What is it, Audrey?" he asked and she could hear the temper rising in his voice and she gave him a look. "Sorry," he apologized.

"You see," she began before taking another swig of her wine. "I got this idea over the weekend that I wanted to have a baby. I'm in my 30's and I'm not getting any younger and I want to do this before I get too old to have kids and I have this timeline that if I would get in a relationship we would have to be together for a certain amount of years before we got married and married a certain amount of years before we had children by that time I would be nearly 40 years old and almost too old to have a baby so I decided I want to have a baby now, no strings attached. I want to do artificial insemination so there's no drama, no relationship just a baby," she said. "I decided I am going to be artificially inseminated and of course I was a little weirded out by the idea of having a stranger's sperm inserted inside me Joe and I decided we were going to do this together. We decided that he would father my child and there are still things we need to work out but we're doing this."

"Wait," said Scott, "all this time you're sitting here telling me you don't want a relationship but you want a baby? Isn't a baby a commitment?" he asked. "And a baby lasts a lifetime and with your best friend?"

"I know it sounds crazy," she said, "but this is what I really want to do. I don't want everything that comes along with having a baby with the relationship but I want a baby. I make enough money to be a mom and I know that I can do it all myself. I'm not worried about that at all. I know it's a commitment but it's something that I really want."

"It's confusing," he said, "And if you want a baby I can have a baby with you, we can start tonight if you want."

"No, Scott. I don't want a baby with you. I don't want anything with you, no relationship, no baby, no marriage. I like the way things are between us. I am not going to change my mind Scott. I'm in it for the sex nothing else."

"But you committed to have a baby with your friend from Florida but you won't have a baby with me?" he asked. "I'm confused."

"Don't be confused. I have known Joe for years, I know his family and I know where he comes from. He's my best friend and I trust him more than anyone. Just because we're having a baby doesn't mean anything. We're making an agreement that we're going to follow through with. There will be no strings attached unlike if I had a baby with you. I don't want any strings, Scott."

"IF this is what you want but do I get a say?"

"Not really no, Scott," she said before finishing up her wine. "I just need to know if you're okay with me having a baby and continuing whatever it is we're doing."

"I don't' really get a say," he said with a shrug. "You made that clear. Why does my opinion even matter?"

"Fine," she shrugged. "Do you want me to leave? Because I can leave."

"I would prefer if you stayed," he said with a smile, "but if you want to leave I won't stop you."

Audrey knew things were going to be complicated if she kept up the No Strings Attached, Friends With Benefits lifestyle with Scott and she was carrying Joe's child but she didn't care about how complicated things would be or didn't realize how complicated they could actually become so she chose to stay with Scott. Audrey got up from her chair and walked over to Scott. He pushed his chair out and pulled her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "I'm going to stay," she smiled before kissing his lips softly and deeply.

"I was hoping you would say that," he said wrapping his arms around her waist before kissing her back. He stood up with skill and carried her up the stairs to his bedroom without breaking their kiss. He kicked the door shut behind them as he carried her over to the bed. He laid her on the bed gently and she smiled up at him as he started stripping out of his 3 piece business suit. She started unbuttoning the buttons to her white blouse and took it off exposing her black cami. She stripped out of her blouse and cami exposing her black lace bra. She started to unbutton her pants and pulled them off after pulling off her heels. Audrey laid back on the bed as Scott crawled over her in his briefs. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him down as he kissed her lips softly and deeply. Audrey knew what she wanted and she knew what she didn't want. She enjoyed sex but never wanted a committed relationship. She had one sex partner which was commitment enough for her but it would never be more. Scott's lips found her neck and he kissed it softly as she let out soft moans as he nibbled on her neck. His kisses trailed down her body over her breasts, down her sternum over her belly and down to her thighs. He kissed each thigh softly before kissing her sex through the lace of her black underwear. He pulled them off quickly and kissed her naked sex. She let out a cry of pleasure as his mouth found her clit as he sucked on it softly and slid his finger inside her making love to her with his finger as he sucked on her sensitive clit.

"Fuck, Scott," she said in ecstasy as he replaced his finger with his tongue, making love to her softly as she groaned out in pleasure. The pleasure ripping through her body, she arched her back up offering him more, taking his tongue deeper as he licked inside her sex and sucked her sex softly. "Scott," she moaned before she couldn't control herself anymore, she couldn't hold back the pleasure and cried out as she hit her climax. "Scott," she said breathlessly. "I want you to fuck me," she begged. Scott smiled and removed his briefs. "Condom," she said.

"We never use condoms," he said as he stroked his thick erection.

"Usually I am on my pill and I haven't taken my pill for three days," she said honestly, "and I don't want to risk having a baby with you."

"Right," he said, "check the drawer on the nightstand." Audrey sat up and got into his nightstand drawer. She pulled a condom out and smiled and gave it to him. "Thank-you," he said ripping open the foil. He quickly put the condom on before towering over Audrey. He teased her with his cock, grinding and rubbing it against her sex before he slid into her softly and gently. They both let out a moan as he filled her. He began moving slow and deep, hitting every spot of her sex. She moved with his rhythm, his lips on hers, kissing her deep as he had sex with her. She slid her nails up and down his spine for being as old as he was he could still bring the most pleasure to her. The passion tearing and ripping through their bodies, Audrey's toes curled and her nails dug into his spine as she reached her climax, crying out in pleasure as he continued thrusting softly before he found his own release and groaned out in pleasure as he filled the condom with his seed. He kissed her lips softly before he removed himself from her. He pulled the condom off, tied it and tossed it into the trashcan. "So you're really doing this baby thing huh?" He asked as he laid beside her.

"Yeah," she said, "Joe and I are doing this. We have an appointment on Wednesday afternoon with the doctor to see what all we have to do but we're doing this."

"I would have donated my sperm if that's what you wanted," he said.

"I know but it wouldn't be right," she said.

"Why wouldn't it be right?" he asked as he rubbed her thigh with his hand.

"Because you're in love with me," she said.

"Damn right I'm in love with you," he smiled.

Audrey sat up and started looking for her clothes. "I'm not in love with you," she said.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she started to get dressed.

"I'm going home," she answered.

"Why?"

"Because it's time for me to go," she said, as she pulled on her underwear and her pants.

"I want you to stay," he said, "have some more fun."

"Scott, you and I both know it's time for me to go this is fun what we have but it's never going to be more than sex. I have to go," she said putting her white blouse back on and buttoning it.

"I just want a chance, Audrey," he said as he got out of bed and pulled on his briefs and then his slacks. "Just one chance."

"Scott, please I don't have the energy to deal with this tonight. I told you what I wanted and I meant it. Please don't make this more difficult than it has to be," she said. "I have to go."

"Fine," he said. "I'll walk you to the door."

"Thank-you," she said as she put her heels back on. She walked out of his bedroom as he held the door open for her. He led her down the stairs and to the foyer. She grabbed her purse and her jacket from the hook. He opened the front door for her. "Goodnight, Scott."

"Goodnight, Audrey," he said with a soft smile even though he was dying inside she would never be the woman he wanted her to be. He kissed her cheek softly. "Drive safely."

"I will. I will see you tomorrow," she said before she walked out onto his porch and then to her car. Scott watched as she started the car and pulled out of his driveway. He shut the door and went to the dining room to clean up from dinner. He just threw the dishes in the sink, grabbed a couple bottles of beer out of the fridge and sat down on the couch in his living room.

Tuesday morning at work was a bit awkward between Scott and Audrey. They barely even talked and Tuesday night Audrey never went to Scott's house she went home to hang out with Joe while he was in town. Wednesday morning was the same way. Scott usually would bring Audrey coffee but he didn't that day. He didn't even stop in to see her which was weird to her. Audrey was packing up her things for the day because she took a half day when Scott appeared at the door to her office. "Hey," he said, "did you want to go get some lunch?"

"I can't," she said, "I have to get ready to go. I took a half day today. I'm going to my appointment."

"I see," he said, "So that's today?"

"Yeah," she said as her phone buzzed. "Yes," she said.

"Ms. Romano there is a Joe Anoa'i here for you," said the receptionist.

"Tell him I'm on my way down," she smiled.

"Okay, Ms. Romano," said the receptionist.

Audrey packed up the rest of her things and as she was getting ready to carry her briefcase Scott stopped her. "I got that," he said with a smile.

"I can manage," she said.

"No, allow me," he said, "I'll walk you down."

"Whatever," she said, "I don't have time to argue." Scott walked her down to the lobby and the elevator ride down was awkwardly silent and they stepped off the elevator she began walking as he placed his hand at the small of her back. She cleared her throat and said, "I've got it from here." She took her briefcase from him and thanked him before she walked over to Joe who was standing in the lobby dressed in blue jeans and a jacket with his long hair in a bun. "Hey," she said with a smile.

"Hey," he greeted her. "You ready for this?"

"Yeah I am," she said with a smile, "are you?"

"I guess as ready as I can be," he said as he held the door for her to walk out of the building. They got into Joe's rental car and headed off to the fertility doctor.

When they arrived at the fertility doctor Audrey filled out some insurance paperwork and some new patient paperwork as they sat in the waiting room. Joe played on his phone to avoid looking around the waiting room of all the pictures of babies and to avoid reading the magazines. They called Audrey back and they stood up together and made their way to the back. They were just meeting with the doctor to go over everything so they knew what was going to happen and how it was going to happen. They were told to take a seat at a desk and wait for the doctor to come in. "Are you nervous?" asked Audrey.

"Not really, it's just we're actually doing this. You're going to be a mom and I might be a dad," he said.

"Right, we have to set up an agreement on how all that's going to work. I want you to have a part in the baby's life. How can you not have a part you know what I mean? We're best friends unless you want to keep the paternity a secret."

"I don't know," he said. "What do you think will be best for us and for the baby?"

"I think it should know you're their father. I mean there's nothing wrong with that. We won't be in a relationship or anything we'll just co-parent how does that sound?"

"Sounds okay to me," he said with a smile. "I never thought this would happen."

"Me either," she said with a smile, "but you're nervous and I can tell you are."

"A little what if this whole procedure doesn't work?"

"Then we will try again," she said. "Sometimes it takes at 3-6 cycles before this actually works unless I have my mom's fertility then it should happen right away." They both let out a laugh knowing that Audrey's mom was very fertile. Audrey took Joe's hand into hers as the doctor came into his office.

"Hello, Ms. Romano, I'm Dr. Richards," he introduced himself.

"Hello, please call me Audrey and this is my friend Joe," she said, "he's going to be the father."

"I see," he said. "Nice to meet both of you," he said shaking their hands before taking a seat. "So what brings you in today? Fertility problems?"

"No," said Audrey. "I want to have a baby but I want to be artificially inseminated with Joe's sperm."

"I see," he said with a nod. "Have you ever experienced pregnancy before?"

"No," she answered.

"And your periods, are they regular, irregular?" he asked.

"I'm pretty regular," she answered. "I would say my periods on average are 28-30 days apart."

"I see," he said taking note, "and Joe would be the donator?"

"Yes," she answered.

"When is your next period due?" he asked.

"It is due next Wednesday the 22nd," she answered.

"So we've already missed your ovulation period," he said.

"Yes."

"If we go by your expected period we would say that you're ovulation period would be that first week of December, December 7th I believe is the date."

"Sure," said Audrey. "I think that's about it."

"Are you familiar with the procedure of artificial insemination?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've done some research," she answered, "but I'm not an expert on it or anything."

"Okay," he said, "what will happen is I will prescribe you fertility drugs for you to take the week before ovulation to help you release more eggs and it will help to increase your chances of becoming pregnant. You'll also want to get an ovulation kit to keep track and make sure you're near ovulation. When you're close to ovulation or the day you're ovulating you will call me and I will bring you in for an ultrasound. The ultrasound will be to check to make sure an egg has been released. We will then take a sperm sample from Joe, clean it and then insert into you. Then we will wait for two weeks to find out if you're pregnant or not," he said.

"That sounds easy enough," said Audrey as she kept Joe's hand.

"It sounds easy but sometimes it doesn't take the first time," he said.

"Well," said Audrey, "if I am anything like my mom there won't be a problem with conceiving the first time."

"I take it that your mother is a very fertile woman?"

"Very," said Audrey with a smile.

"You may very well be like her or you may not be. We will do this first procedure and see what happens. Don't be upset if it doesn't happen right away. Sometimes it takes a couple tries before it happens."

"I know," said Audrey.

"And if this happens then what?" asked Joe.

"Then you are lucky and you two are going to have a baby," he said with a smile. "After hearing everything today are you both sure this is what you're interested in doing, it could be cheaper if you did it the natural way," he joked.

"Yeah," said Audrey, "this is how we want to do it. Joe, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," he said, "let's do this," he smiled at her.

"Wonderful," said the doctor with a smile. "I just have some papers for you to sign and then I will write your prescription."

"Okay," said Audrey with a smile.

After their appointment they walked out to Joe's car and he opened the car door for her before he got into the driver's side. "I guess we're doing this," said Joe.

"We are," she said with a smile as she looked at him with her dark brown eyes. "I'm excited."

"Me too," he said as he pulled off into traffic. "And we're going to tell our parents next week?"

"Yeah so it's not a big surprise when it happens," she said. "Thank-you, Joe for doing this."

"You don't even have to thank me, what are best friends for?" he asked with a smile.

 ***A/N: What did you think? What do you think of Audrey? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

About a week later Audrey walked into a small Italian restaurant in jeans with holes on the knees and a t-shirt sporting the name of her father's restaurant _Romano's Italiano_ with her hair pulled up into a ponytail something she very rarely did because she preferred to let her hair hang down. She wasn't a fan of ponytails or buns. The small restaurant was fairly busy for it being the night before Thanksgiving. She made her way to the hostess' stand where her sister in law Sofia was working. "How can I help… Audrey!" she said with a smile before she greeted her with a hug.

"Hello, Sofia," she said with a smile hugging her back.

"I didn't expect to see you tonight," she said as they broke their embrace.

"I didn't expect it to be so busy tonight," she said. "It is the day before Thanksgiving right?"

"Business has gotten better in the last few months," she said with a smile as Audrey's mom came over to see what the commotion was all about.

"Audrey," she said with a smile. It had been years since Audrey saw her mother and vice versa. Audrey hardly made the trip back home to her hometown. She was a city girl, no longer the country beach girl she used to be before she left for college. Life had gotten busy for her in New York and she would always find an excuse to get out of a visit home. "What brings you home, I never expected this."

"I thought I would come to visit for a couple days," she said. "I know I didn't tell you but I wanted you and Papa to be surprised."

"Well, it's good to see you," she said embracing her with a hug. "It looks like New York is treating you well," she said giving her daughter a once over. Audrey was her mother's twin. They shared the same dark hair and the same dark eyes and the same facial features. Audrey's mother was just as beautiful as Audrey was but more mature in her looks. "And of course it's all right for you to be here for Thanksgiving. It has been what? 10 years since you spent a holiday with us?"

"Sorry life got a little busy up in New York and work has been crazy," she explained.

"Do you eat in New York?" she asked looking her daughter over once more, "you're all skin and bones," she said.

"I eat, Mama," she said with a smile, "I just work out more up there."

"I see well I can't wait to hear all about New York and your job tomorrow. Tonight we're a little busy."

"I see that, would you like some extra hands?" she asked. "I came dressed for the occasion," she smiled showing off her Romano's uniform shirt.

"That would be great," said her mom with a smile. "You can take some orders."

"I'm on it, Mama," she said before jumping back into her old job, the job she held while she was in high school being a waitress in her parents' family owned business. It seemed to have flourished in her absence it started out small with small crowds but everything about that night was more than small. Her father and mother did a majority of the cooking while her 4 brothers and herself worked as waiters and waitresses. It was a family business ran by what used to be a tight knit business. Her brothers dreamed of taking over the family business while Audrey wanted something more. She left Pensacola after high school to achieve her dreams of becoming a high powered attorney which has kept her from her family. "But I wanted to talk to you and Papa about something," she said.

"We'll have time to talk," she said with a smile before Audrey made her way to the kitchen to visit her father. "Papa!" she said as she saw him by the stove.

"Audrey," he smiled. "What a surprise," he spoke in his Italian accent. Audrey hugged her father tightly as he hugged her back. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the holiday, Papa," she said, "and tonight I'm helping out."

"Thank-you," he said with a grateful smile making her smile. "You taking orders?"

"Yes, Sir," she said with a smile.

"You're looking good, you've grown up," he said with a smile, "you've turned into a beautiful young woman," he said but she was hardly young anymore she was 31 going on 32. She didn't feel very young.

"Thank-you, Papa," she said before she set off to work.

Audrey's night was spent working at the family restaurant and she felt a bit of nostalgia. Romano's was always the place to be on Friday nights and Saturday nights. She enjoyed the feel of family working together and it was peaceful nothing like the demanding crowds in New York City. After a night working with her family she made her way to her childhood home to spend the next couple days with the family she had neglected the last few years. It had not changed at all since she had last been there. She parked her rental car in the driveway and made her way to the front door taking in the sight of the old 3 story home with 4 bedrooms hardly enough space for Audrey and her 4 older brothers but being the only girl she had her own bedroom and her own space, 2 bathroom house was in need of repair and a paint job. She opened the front screen door before opening the front door leading her into the foyer of her home. The scent of the lit candle burning in the living room brought back nostalgia it still smelled the same of cinnamon and pumpkin, her mother's favorite fall scent. She laid her bags down by the door and ventured into the house.

Audrey made her way into the living room where her mother and papa were sitting with her 4 older brothers; Antonio, Dominick, Mateo and Enzo along with their wives and Audrey's nieces Amalia and Francesca. It had been so long since she saw Amalia, the last time she had seen her she was a 2 year old and now she was 7 years old while she had never met Francesca. She heard Dominick had a daughter named Francesca 3 years ago but she had never gotten to meet her until now. "Hey," said Audrey nervously as she stepped into the living.

"Audrey," said her brother Enzo. "Long time since we've seen you. Where have you been hiding?" he asked.

"New York City," she answered with a soft smile. "I've been pretty busy," she said taking a seat on the couch.

"Oh yeah, you're that high power attorney now," said Enzo. "Do you like it? What's New York like?"

"I love my job," she said with a smile. "And New York is busy but I love it. It's cold and crowded but it's my home."

"I see," said Enzo. "Thanks for helping out tonight," he said.

"No problem. I miss Romano's," she said. "It will always be my home."

"Yes it will," said her mother. "So is everything okay with you?" she asked. "A trip home for you is a bit surprising."

"Everything is okay," she answered. "I just wanted to spend this Thanksgiving with my family. I thought I would surprise y'all," she said busting out her southern accent that she managed to keep hidden in New York City. "I think I want to start spending more holidays here at home or have you come to New York to visit me."

"Something is going on," said Antonio figuring out his younger sister. Antonio and Audrey were the closest at least they were until Audrey left for New York. "You don't just drop in for Thanksgiving dinner without calling first or telling your family you're coming for a visit. You surprised us so what's going on, Audrey?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, "I just wanted to see my family. It's been so long since I've seen y'all," she smiled. "And I wanted to see Amalia, I haven't seen her in 5 years since your last trip to New York and I wanted to meet Francesca," she said with a smile.

"Yeah okay," said Antonio. "Are you getting married?" he asked.

"Yes, are you getting married, Audrey?" asked her mother.

She showed them her left hand and said, "no I'm not getting married and I don't plan to ever get married."

"You're 31 almost 32," argued her mother, "you should have been married by now and what about children? Do you not want children?" she asked.

"I know how old I am," she said, "and as for children of course I want children. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Are you pregnant?" asked her father. "Are you here to tell us you're having a baby?"

"I'll kill him," said Enzo. "Who is the dad?" he asked.

"Enzo, relax," she said. "And no Papa, I'm not pregnant," she said honestly not revealing her plan until Roman and his parents arrived. She wanted to spit out the news but she promised Joe she would wait for them to arrive and by coincidence the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," she said before jumping up off the couch to run to the door.

"Something is definitely up," said Antonio.

"Shh," said their mother. "You don't know that," she said.

"Okay," he said, "you know Audrey when is the last time she decided to spend a holiday with us? Something is up otherwise it would be another holiday without her," he said as Audrey came back into the living room with Joe, his dad and his mom.

"I'm sorry if me coming home on a holiday is a bad thing," she said, "maybe next time I won't pay the expense to travel home and spend it up in New York."

"That's how you've been doing it," said Dominick, "why is 2017 different? Why are you here in 2017 but couldn't be here the last few years."

"Because I was busy with work," she answered truthfully.

"We have company," said her mother as she stood up to greet Joe and his family. "Joe, I haven't seen you in a while. How are you doing?" she asked greeting him with a hug.

"I'm good," he smiled as he hugged her back, "I've been pretty busy with my career too," he answered truthfully.

"We miss you around here," she said with a smile as Joe greets Audrey's family. "Sika and Monica welcome," she said with a smile. "What brings all three of you here tonight?" she asked before they greet the rest of Audrey's family.

"I'm not sure," answered Monica, "Joe said he and Audrey wanted to talk to us about something but said we had to talk here. I have no idea what's going on."

"Neither do we," said Audrey's mom as she took a seat on the couch opposite of Audrey and Joe as Joe's parents found a seat on the couch with Audrey's mom and dad. "So what's going on? Are you two dating?" she asked.

"Not exactly," said Joe looking at Audrey with a smile. They both knew that's what their families would have expected and have wanted since they were in high school. "We're still best friends."

"I still don't believe the whole friend angle," said Enzo. "You're way too close to be _just_ friends," he argued. "I'm sure you've hooked up at some point."

"Enzo!" said their mother. "Not appropriate."

"Definitely not appropriate," said their father raising his voice a little.

"I'm sorry but you know it's true you can't believe that Audrey is 31 going on 32 living in New York City and is still a virgin," he said.

"Okay," said Audrey, "enough about my sex life and whether I am a virgin or not. That's between God and me and no one else," she said. "Joe and I just want to talk to all of you. Since our work schedules are so busy and we hardly get the time to come home we decided to come home for Thanksgiving to talk to y'all a bit about some things."

"I knew there was a secret agenda to Audrey's surprise visit," said Antonio with pride that he had his little sister figured out.

"Yes you're right," said Audrey, "but I also wanted to spend some time with my family. I want to start spending more time with you as much as I can. Mom and Papa aren't getting younger they are getting older like the rest of us. I don't want my biggest regret to be that we didn't get enough time because I moved to New York and was too busy for my parents. I want as much time as I can get with them before it's too late," she said sincerely. "But yes there is more," she said as Joe took her hand into his and it didn't go unnoticed by their families. Monica and Audrey's mother Isabel exchanged glances and smiled at each other hoping to hear the words they had longed to hear from their children. Both Monica and Isabel both discussed how perfect it would be if Joe and Audrey fell in love one day, got married and had children together as both families were close to each other. They always thought that Joe and Audrey would have a relationship but were surprised when Joe started to date another girl shortly after high school that destroyed him, brought him down and caused many issues between Joe and his family. "You see," began Audrey. "I'm really involved with my job and I'm going on 32 in the next couple months and I realize time isn't on my side anymore. I'm getting older and yet have found no romantic interest in any man. I just can't fall in love with anyone or have a relationship with anyone," she said. "It really isn't what I want in life. Joe came to visit me a couple weeks ago and we were talking about success and succeeding. I have a great job. I love my job but I have always wanted a little more out of life. I want to have a baby," she broke the ice and her father shot her a look. "Papa," she said, "I'm not pregnant, not yet anyway," she began.

"Define not yet?" he asked with his Italian accent growing thicker which told Audrey he was agitated already. In his rules she needed to be married before she had sex and be married before she had children, his values were old fashioned. She wasn't old fashioned and didn't believe in marriage or the need of marriage to have a child.

"I'm going to have a baby," she began, "but not the natural way. I don't want the commitment of having a child with a man or having a marriage with a man to have said child. I decided I wanted to go a different route. I wanted to have a baby through artificial insemination. I know it's not natural and it's not normal but this is what I have chosen to do. I started by wanting to choose a sperm donor from a sperm bank but that whole thing is a bit iffy. I didn't like the idea of having a child from sperm that I don't know anyone can lie on those forms. I didn't like the idea that one day my child could possibly fall in love with their half-sibling. It was just weird to me so Joe and I were talking. I have known Joe for years and he is my best friend. He will ALWAYS be my best friend and he has offered to be my sperm donor. He is going to donate his sperm so that I can have a child. We are already in the process of starting this. I am on my fertility medicine to make conception more likely even with the risk of multiples which is another bridge we will cross if we get to it but in the beginning of December we are looking to have the insemination take place."

"What?" asked Isabel.

"I'm confused," said Enzo. "Why wouldn't you just do it the natural way?" he asked, "isn't insemination expensive?"

"It's pretty expensive," said Audrey, "but it's the best way to go. We don't want to do it the natural way. I realize it would probably be easier BUT it wouldn't be right," she said.

"And what would Joe be in all of this?" asked Monica. "Would your child be our grandchild or no?"

"Joe and I still have to discuss his role in the baby's life. Seeing as he is my best friend he would have some type of relationship with the baby I'm not going to deny him a relationship with him or her; however, what that relationship will be and how much of a relationship he will have with the baby is still up for discussion."

"So you're not going to marry?" asked Isabel.

"No, mom. We're not getting married, I'm not getting married. I'm going to have a baby."

"Without a husband?" asked her dad.

"Yes, Papa a lot of successful women are choosing this route. A lot of women are choosing to use a sperm donor to have a baby rather than go the traditional route."

"And what happens if you meet someone after you have the baby?" asked Antonio. "What happens to Joe and his relationship with the baby?"

"I don't know," said Audrey. "Joe will always be a part of our lives. I don't plan to meet anyone so that's kind of moot."

"Yet you don't know that," said Enzo. "I think this whole thing is screwy. I mean it's not solid and so much could go wrong."

"But so much could go right," said Audrey.

"It's not traditional," argued Isabel.

"Not to mention sinful that's not what God meant when he said be fruitful," said Antonio. "I think it's a bad choice."

"And I'm going to Hell for a lot more than being artificially inseminated," she said. "I have done a lot worse than that but at least I will go to Hell happy knowing that I had the child that I wanted. I don't want marriage or everything that comes along with having a baby. I want to be a single mother and raise my child. I can do it. I am financially stable enough to be a single mother and it is much easier to do it this way than wait until I meet the one and get married by then it might be too late."

"You could freeze your eggs," suggested her mother.

"I think it's Audrey's choice," said Monica, "I think if she wants to have a baby this way it's her choice. I just don't' want my son to be hurt in the process."

"Mom," said Joe. "I know what I am signing up for. Like Audrey said we still have some things to discuss."

"Are you sure you would want to sign all your rights over to your child?" she asked.

"If that's what Audrey was asking yes. She is my best friend and I want to see her happy. This is something she really wants to do and I'm going to help her do it no matter what my role. I told her I will support her no matter what choice she makes."

"Noble," said Enzo. "I can see this whole thing ending your friendship and going to hell. It's a stupid idea."

"I don't think it's that stupid," said Audrey. "I'm not asking you to like it because you don't have to like it. I just want support for your niece or nephew and for your grandchild," she said, "that's all I want. Would you love it any less because it wasn't conceived naturally?" she asked making a good point to her family.

"I'm sure we would love it the same," said Isabel. "I'm just not sure why you can't wait until you finally find a man to marry and have a child with him."

"Because I'm not wasting my prime conception years waiting for the one," she answered. "I made up my mind and this is what we're doing. You can either accept it or not. I just wanted everyone to know before word gets out and it's a lot easier to explain before the procedure than it would be if I showed up here pregnant or with a baby."

"I support you," said Dominick.

"Thank-you, Dom."

"Even if I don't agree," said Enzo, "I will support you."

"Me too," said Antonio. "I mean it is about time you give us a niece or nephew despite how you're doing it but one thing," he said, "you have to promise me this, promise us all this," he said.

"Okay," said Audrey.

"You have to let us see our niece or nephew and let mom and papa see them too. You can't go years without visiting us."

"I promise," smiled Audrey.

"I guess my baby girl is having a baby," said Isabel. "Are you sure you really want to do this?" she asked.

"Positive, I've already thought about it and I have already paid," she said, "it's happening."

"Okay," she nodded before Audrey's father got up and left the room. He was less than thrilled with Audrey's plan. He didn't agree with his only daughter being a single mother whether it was traditional conception or not. He didn't like the idea. Audrey decided to give him time to cool off before she would talk to him about her choice. He would come around he just needed time.

After announcing their plan to their families and answering their questions Joe's family stayed to hang out with Audrey's family a while giving Joe and Audrey the opportunity to discuss their situation and what it would mean for both of them. "So," said Audrey as they sat out on the patio in the backyard overlooking the in-ground pool each with a bottle of beer. "That wasn't terrible."

"No it wasn't," he said taking a swig of his beer. "I thought it would be a lot worse."

"Me too," she said with a smile before taking a swig of her own beer. "Don't worry my dad will come around. He just wasn't raised like that or to believe in this sort of medical advances. I think it's better to be artificially inseminated than to have casual sex to make a baby."

"But you do have casual sex," he said with a smile.

"Shut up, I do but not to have a baby. It's more for my pleasure," she said.

"Speaking of, what did Scott say about everything?"

"He didn't handle it well and I think until you and I conceive a child I'm just not going to have sex with him."

"That's a lot of info," he said with a smile. "Why?"

"I don't trust him, Joe. He might try to poke holes in the condoms or something. I don't know. I just don't' think it's a good idea."

"And you're still going to have sex with him when you're pregnant?"

"Maybe," she said, "I don't know."

"Do whatever you want," he said. "But if you want my opinion the guy's an ass. And he wants more than a little kinky fuckery in your bed," he said. "I think he's in love with you."

"I already knew all that," she said.

"And what about you? Do you feel that way about him? Do you want a little more than time in his bed or do you have any feelings for him?"

"I don't know. I'm confused which is why I think a break outside of his bed is best for now. I need time to think."

"Are you sure you want to do the insemination in a couple weeks? I mean if you're not sure you have feelings for Scott shouldn't you hold off on being inseminated what if you two end up together, getting married and having a baby? Wouldn't that be weird?"

"Joe," she said looking at him with her dark brown eyes. "I want to do this whatever happens after is what happens but I want to do it this way besides don't you think our baby will be beautiful?"

"I'm sure it will but what is going to be my role, Audrey? What is going to be my relationship with the baby? Am I just going to be Uncle Joe and they not know I am really their dad or are they going to know that I am their father? This is the complicated part, Audrey. What am I and how much part will I have in the baby's life?"

"How much do you want, Joe?" she asked.

"I don't know. I would like to have some of a relationship with him or her, visit them, take them out whatever you allow me to do. They don't have to know I am their father and I can be Uncle Joe. They don't need my last name or anything I just ask for a little part in their life."

"And you know that's a given, Joe, you're my best friend. You'll be Uncle Joe," she said. "But if you want more than that I'm willing to give it to you. If you want to be daddy I'm okay with that too. I'm not going to keep you away from your child. If you want them to know you're their father I have no problem with it. The ball is in your court, Joe, you can help make the decisions too."

"Audrey," he said, "the ball is actually in your court legally. That baby doesn't need to have my last name, know it's my child or be financially supported by me."

"That's legally, I'm talking about between you and me," she said. "I am not opposed of being parents together, raising our child by co-parenting. You want a relationship with them and I'm willing to give it to you as a parental role. Who is to say this baby won't look like you which for some reason I hope he or she does have some of your Samoan characteristics. People will already know and assume you're the father so why not just be dad?"

"And if you marry Scott and he wants to adopt the child? I have no rights as the sperm donor," he said.

"Do you want rights to the child?" she asked, "because you can be put down as the father on the birth certificate. I will give you the rights, Joe."

"I'm not asking you to do that," he said, "I just don't want you to marry Scott or someone else and they try to adopt the child or don't want me to have a part in their life. That would hurt more than anything, Audrey. I don't want to get hurt here."

"It's as simple as putting you on the birth certificate, Joe and then you will have all the rights you need but what if you get married to someone else and they don't want you to have a part in the baby's life? Would you just disappear?"

"Never," he said. "That baby would always be a part of me and they would have to accept that to accept me."

"And the same goes if I would by some odd chance fall in love with someone they would have to accept you and the baby to accept me. We can make this work. I have a suggestion," she said. "Just hear me out okay?"

"I'm listening," he said. "What do you got?"

"Legally," she began, "as long as you're put down as the father on the birth certificate you have all the rights to the child and no one would be able to adopt them or take them from you. I think we should co-parent, Joe. I think you should be daddy and the baby should know that. We can work together to make this happen. I'm not saying you have to have any financial responsibility to the child but big decisions like education, medical and so forth you and I can work on together. You will have a say and I will have a say, we can arrange visitation and draw up custody papers it would be like we conceived the baby naturally. Your family would have a relationship with him or her and my family would too. I honestly think that's the easiest way to go. We just co-parent. It's not a typical choice but I don't want you to be excluded from your child's life. We're best friends we can do this."

"I don't want anything to get messy, Audrey but I like that idea. I think it works and I think we should Co-parent. I already plan to go to every doctor appointment, be there at birth and so on so I might as well be the dad and sign the birth certificate."

"Great," said Audrey with a smile. "I think it's a lot less messy that way and I can draw up custody papers. I mean obviously I would have full custody and you would have visitation or we could move in together and raise the baby that way wouldn't' that be fun?"

"Are you asking me to move to New York or are you asking to move to Tampa because I'm confused and how did we go from co-parenting to living together? How would that even work especially with your Scott situation? The dude lost his mind because I came to visit imagine if we lived together he would completely lose his mind," he said, "do you think it's a good idea?"

"Well, I'm not leaving New York that's where my job is," she said, "so maybe you could move into my penthouse with me. I have the space and besides it's not like we're romantically involved. I don't care about what Scott thinks or says. We're having a baby together and I think you should be living there what do you think?"

"I think it's taking a huge risk at our friendship but I'm just crazy enough to do it. When do you want me to move in?" he asked flashing her a smile.

"Whenever you're ready," she smiled back at him. "You think we're crazy for all of this?"

"We've always been crazy, Audrey but I think if we're doing this whole thing the way we planned to living together isn't so crazy plus we're best friends it isn't like we don't know about each other already. I think it is going to be a fun experience for both of us."

"Me too," she said with a smile. "Me too," she said once more before taking a swig of her beer.

 ***A/N: What did you think of Audrey's family's reaction to her plan? Do you think her father will ever come around to the idea of his daughter being a single mother? What did you think of Joe and Audrey making their final choice on how things will work? Do you think they should Co-parent together or that Joe should just take an uncle role? What do you think of them living together? Are they risking their friendship? What did you think of Audrey's decision to not sleep with Scott for a while? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

"Talk about having a lot of shoes," jokes Audrey as Joe was bringing some of his belongings into her New York City Penthouse as he was starting to move in. "And people think I have a large shoe collection look at you."

"My shoe game is strong what can I say?" Joe smiles at her. "Where do you want me to put my stuff?" he asks.

"In one of the guest rooms," she says with a smile. "Nothing has changed since high school I expect our child to have a strong shoe game as well."

"Oh yeah, definitely," he says with a smile, "girl or boy our child is going to have enough shoes to match every outfit they own and they will have enough outfits that they will only have to wear the same one once or twice."

"And what if they have a favorite outfit and want to wear that outfit every day?" she asks. "Are you going to deny our child the right of wearing that outfit nearly every day?"

"Well, no but they will be good on clothes and shoes," he says.

"I didn't think so," she smiles. "I hope that you're ready for a child with exceptional reasoning skills and wonderful debate skills because our child will definitely have exceptional reasoning skills and debate skills I mean I am one of the most powerful attorneys in New York City. I wouldn't expect our son or daughter to be any less but then again our child will also have the best athletic abilities from you."

"I think our child will be well-rounded," he says before he takes his things into his bedroom. "Does your work boyfriend know I am moving in here?"

"No, it's not really his business right now and he's not my work boyfriend. He's just someone I like to have sex with when I'm bored and I need to have sex."

"Do you have any emotional attachment to guys or no? Because I don't ever remember you having a boyfriend in high school."

"The answer to that is no, I guess I'm kind of a freak huh? I don't get emotionally attached to guys it's just not in me," she explains. "I guess that's what happens when you grow up with all brothers. I never really saw the need to be emotionally attached. I can have sex and have fun. That's the way I like it no strings attached and no drama. I get mine and they get theirs. It's that simple although Scott is trying really hard to make it all about flowers and candy. That's just not me because if it was I wouldn't be getting inseminated with my best friend's sperm tomorrow to create a life."

"How is your promiscuous sex life with Scotty boy going to work out when we have that little baby together? How are you going to explain that to our child?"

"I don't know yet. I haven't thought about it," she says. "I'm just hoping that this procedure takes tomorrow and your sperm attacks my egg."

"You know Audrey, you have a crazy way of putting things," he says with a laugh. "Have you been taking your fertility drugs?"

"Sure have since I ended my period I have been taking them."

"And you're sure tomorrow is O day?" he asks.

"According to my ovulation chart and my ovulation kit I am going to ovulate tomorrow. They will make sure of that tomorrow and as long as that egg drops we're good to go and your sperm is free to attack my egg," she smiles.

"I love you, Audrey," he says with a smile. "You always know how to make me laugh."

"I love you too, Joe. Thank-you for doing this with me, we'll figure out the logistics later but I wouldn't want to have a baby with anyone else but you."

"You think we'll be good parents?"

"I hope so," she says hopefully. "I mean I have seen you with kids and you're amazing with them. It's me I am worried about. I think to be a mother I might have to cut back on my high powered New York City Attorney lifestyle. I don't want to pay out all this money to never see my kid you know?"

"I hear you," he says. "I might have to cut back on wrestling a bit to be a dad."

"You don't have to do that, Joe."

"I want to do that," he says. "So are you hungry, do you want to order out or anything?"

"How about I just cook us dinner and forget ordering out. I am going to lose my figure when I get pregnant. I don't want to add to it by eating out again. I can make us spaghetti."

"Sounds good to me," he says, "and can you drink wine tonight?"

"For the last time for a few weeks yeah," she says. "I feel like Scott is going to be pissed that you're moving in and I won't even let him be my boyfriend."

"I'm sure he will be. I'm pretty sure if the woman I was screwing wouldn't allow me to have a relationship with her because she didn't want any strings attached but was having a baby with her best friend and they were moving in together I would be pretty pissed off. I'm not going to have to be here when you're screwing am I? I think that's going to be an awkward situation," he says as he sits at the island in her kitchen as she gets things out to make them dinner.

"If that's something you don't' want I can always go to his house to sleep with him then it wouldn't be that awkward."

"But what about when the baby comes? How will that work out?"

"I don't know," she says pulling out a box of spaghetti. "I haven't thought that far yet but maybe once I have a baby I won't be so promiscuous and I might want to actually settle down with my life but I don't see that happening."

"I don't see it either," he smiles.

"Shut up," she says, "so I don't have time tonight to make my homemade sauce so I am going to use jar sauce. Is that okay?"

"I will never complain about a home cooked meal, Audrey. I spend my life out on the road. I am not picky at all make that spaghetti however you need to."

"All right," she says, "but I will flavor it up Italiano style for you," she winked.

While Audrey was cooking dinner Joe went into his new bedroom and started to unpack everything that he had brought to New York with him. He still had a few more things to bring to his new apartment but that would have to wait a little bit before he brought them. He was excited to be rooming with Audrey. They had always talked about it but they never had the chance because they went to different colleges and went different ways in life. He was happy to have the opportunity now especially if they were going to raise a child together. He never pictured living in New York but that's where Audrey's job was he was more flexible because he traveled everywhere and could relocate at any time while Audrey was unable to do the same. When dinner was ready Audrey called for Joe and they sat together to eat a nice dinner together just the two of them before the next day when their entire lives would change.

"Thanks for dinner tonight, Audrey," he says with a smile.

"It was no problem. It was a lot of carbs but I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I always enjoy a good home cooked meal," he smiles.

"Me too," she responds. "So are you ready for tomorrow?"

"I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be. You?"

"I'm ready," she says. "I just hope it all works out on the first try but I understand that sometimes it takes a couple of tries for it to happen."

"Me too," he says. "Well, I think I am going to go to bed. I will see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning," she says before giving him a hug. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he says before he walks into his bedroom as Audrey sits down on the couch to watch some TV. She was too anxious and too excited to sleep. Everything could be different tomorrow and in the next couple weeks. She couldn't sleep with all the thoughts running through her mind about the next day and how everything would go.

Audrey was sitting watching tv when her cellphone started buzzing on the table. She looks at the time to see it's nearly midnight and looks at the screen of the phone to see that it's Scott calling. She lets out a breath of annoyance before she answers the phone. "Scott, do you know what time it is?"

"I miss you, Audrey," he says into the phone. "I miss you a lot. I just wanted to hear your voice."

"All right," she says. "It's still nearly midnight. I have an early morning tomorrow."

"Is tomorrow the day it happens?" he asks.

"Yes," she says. "Tomorrow is the day it happens."

"I just wish you would go a different route, Audrey. I love you. I can be a dad. You and I could have a baby together. Why don't you let us try out a relationship and in a few months we try to have a baby together?"

"Scott, that's not how I want it to be. You know this. I'm sorry but I am going with Joe on this one. It's not you it's me," she explains. "I just don't want that commitment with you."

"But you can with him?" he asks.

"He's my best friend we've been through this. I have known him since I was a kid and there will a contractual agreement between us. We're not in a relationship. We're just best friends doing this parenting thing together."

"Whatever you say, when can I see you again?" he asks.

"I don't know," she answers. "I told you we weren't having sex until this procedure was done and I can't risk getting pregnant by you."

"Do you think having a baby with me would be that bad, Audrey?"

"Yes, Scott because that's not what I want, look I like having fun with you. I like having sex with you no strings attached. I don't need the added drama to it. I just want to have fun. That was our deal, Scott. It was never supposed to be more than sex. You get yours and I get mine," she says.

"When do you come back to work?" he asks.

"Thursday morning. I took today and tomorrow off. I took today off because Joe is moving in and tomorrow off because of the procedure."

"He's moving in with you? Oh my God, Audrey next you will be sleeping with him."

"Yeah I don't think that's going to happen. We're just friends look, Scott can we please talk tomorrow?"

"I don't want to let you off the phone, Audrey," he says with a smile. "I like hearing your voice."

"I know but it's late."

"Can you come over?"

"It's too late to travel the city," she says, "and besides it will just turn into sex and I'm not trying to risk anything with you."

"I have condoms," he says.

"No, Scott. You should be sleeping anyway. You have work tomorrow."

"It's not the same when you're not there. I feel like you're going to leave the firm."

"I don't know what I am doing yet," she says.

"So it's a possibility?"

"I guess anything is possible," she says.

"Wow, Audrey it's like I don't even know you anymore."

"Scott, you never really did. I am just saying I enjoyed going home to Florida to visit my family. I liked working at their restaurant. I might consider moving down there in the future and work in their restaurant."

"You would give up all of this to work in your family business?" he asks.

"Yes," she says. "Look, Scott, I have to go. I will see you on Thursday morning. Goodnight," she says before she hangs up the phone before he had the chance to say goodbye or try to keep her on the phone much longer. She turns the TV off and turns out the lights in the living room before she makes her way to her bedroom. She lays down on her bed and falls asleep within minutes despite the excitement of what's to come.

The next morning Joe and Audrey arrive at the fertility doctor's office to get the procedure done, "you feeling nervous?" asks Joe as he holds the door open for her.

"Just a little bit but I am more scared that it won't work this first time," she says.

"If it doesn't work we will try again, you and I both have the money to try as many times as we possibly need to but you could have your mom's fertility and it happen the first time. Have you never had a pregnancy scare?" he asks.

"Never," she says as they walked up to the receptionist. Audrey gives her name and they are instructed to take a seat because the doctor will be with them shortly. "I'm as regular as can be," she says. "I'm never late and I never skip my period."

"I'm not an expert at this kind of thing but I think that's a good sign. It means you ovulate when you're supposed to so there is a pretty good chance it will happen for us."

"I hope so," she says. "Are you nervous at all?" she asks.

"Not at all. I'm ready to do this," he says calmly. "I'm nervous about the whole being a dad thing but I'll learn as I go."

"Well, we'll both be learning as we go because I need to learn this whole mom thing. I have never taken care of a baby in my life."

"You never babysat?"

"No," she shakes her head. "Never there were not babies for me to take care of or babysit. Have you ever taken care of a baby before?"

"I mean I've had some practice with my nieces and nephews but for an extended period of time I never cared for a kid. Being a parent is a forever type of thing. Are you sure you're ready for that commitment?"

"I think I am ready," she says.

"I hope so because once this happens there is no going back, Audrey. Are you 100% sure you want to do this? Or do you need more time to think about it? Remember it's a forever type of thing like a marriage but you're the parent."

"I'm 100% sure I want to do this, Joe. I want a baby I understand it's forever but I really want to have this baby."

"Okay," he says. "You'll be a great mom I know that you will."

"Thanks," she says. "Scott called last night I told him you moved in. He wasn't happy about it but he wasn't upset either. He thinks we'll end up sleeping together."

"Yeah, that's never going to happen," he says. "We've never really had that attraction to each other."

"That's what I was trying to tell him. He wants to have a relationship and wants us to try for a baby."

"Why don't you do that?" he asks.

"Because I don't want to. I don't want that flowers, cards and candy bullshit. That's how hearts get broken. I don't have time for it. This is what I want."

"Is that what it's all about? You're afraid that you're going to get your heart broken? Is that why you don't have any type of relationship because you're scared to get your heart broken?"

"I don't know," she says, "I just never had it in me to have feelings for anyone. I mean I have come close with Scott and sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm not in it for love but for the sex. He's divorced and he's way older than me and he has kids. Why on earth would he want to start over with me?"

"Do you love him, Audrey?" he asks.

"I don't know I think I might. He's not a bad guy. He just has a drinking problem if he could fix that then maybe I could give him a shot even if it scares the shit out of me just like what we are about to do scares the shit out of me."

"Sometimes it is the things that scare us the most are those that mean the most to us and turn out to be the best things in our life. You should never be afraid to take that chance," he says. "Never because you never know how it's going to turn out," he says.

"I guess you're right do you think I should give Scott a chance?"

"I think only you can make that decision, Audrey but are we still doing this today?"

"Yes, Joe, we are because what if I do give Scott a chance and it doesn't work out? I'm going to feel like an idiot for passing this by," she says just as she is called to the back. "Well, it's time," she says standing up. Joe stood up with her and they made their way to the back.

"So Audrey, how are you today?" asks the fertility doctor.

"I'm all right," she says. "Just a little nervous what if this doesn't work out?"

"I'm sure everything will work out sometimes it doesn't happen on the first try but more likely on the second try."

"Okay," she says. "I did my ovulation test this morning and I should be ovulating today according to it."

"Well, I'm going to make sure by doing an ultrasound that an egg has been released. While I'm doing the ultrasound Mr. Anoa'i, I'm going to send you into another room so that you can provide me a sperm sample just in case we need it today."

"All right," he says. The doctor hands him a cup and a nurse directs Joe to a private room to do what he needs to so that he can provide a sperm sample.

While Joe was in the other room the doctor had Audrey get up on the table of another room to perform an ultrasound on her after she changed into a gown. Audrey was laying on the table as the doctor came in. "Well, we're going to find out if there is an egg to be fertilized today," he says with a smile as he gets everything ready for the ultrasound. He turns on the machine and lifts Audrey's gown before putting gel onto her stomach. She moves from the coldness of the gel. "I know it's cold I'm sorry but it will feel warm shortly," he says before he takes the Doppler over her abdomen. "Have you been feeling any pain?"

"Like ovulation pain?" she asks.

"Yes," he says.

"Not really but I've had fertile cervical mucus for a couple days now," she says.

"That's what I want to hear," he says, "and there it is," he says with a smile pointing to the screen. "An egg has been released."

"Really?" she asks as she looks at the screen, "so we can do the procedure today?"

"We can do the procedure today," he says with a smile. "Once we have the sperm sample we'll be able to do the procedure."

"Wonderful," she says with a smile.

About 30 minutes later Audrey and Joe were in the room for the procedure to take place. The doctor needed to check Joe's sperm sample to make sure there were viable sperm and there were plenty of viable sperm to complete the procedure. The doctor had Audrey on the table with her legs up in the stirrups waiting to get the procedure done. "There is a possibility of multiples due to the fertility drugs you've been taking but it is highly unlikely but there is a small chance of there being multiples."

"Not Quads or anything like that right? You mean twins right?" she asks.

"Twins are far more likely than quads," he says. "You have nothing to worry about, Audrey," he says.

"Yeah, I am in this for one or two not four," she says as Joe takes her hand.

"You ready?" he asks looking down at her.

"I'm ready," she says with a smile as she looks into his dark brown eyes and for the first time in her entire life she didn't see Joe as a best friend. She saw Joe as so much more than a friend, he was going to be the father of her child, they were going to have a child together and for that she loved him but loved him in a different way than she ever had. Joe felt it too. He was looking into the dark eyes of his child's mother and she wasn't that little girl he used to know. She was grown up and she wasn't just his best friend anymore he too looked at Audrey differently as the doctor began the procedure. He inserted Joe's sperm into Audrey's uterus through her cervix allowing the sperm to make their way to the egg.

"All finished," he says shortly after the sperm was inserted into the uterus.

"Already?" asks Audrey. "That didn't take as long as I thought it would."

"It's a very simple procedure," says the doctor, "but I should inform you that you should abstain from any sexual intercourse for the next two weeks give the sperm time to fertilize the egg and any type of intercourse especially unprotected intercourse could jeopardize the procedure. I will tell you to take the day to rest and tomorrow you can return back to your normal activities. You may feel some mild cramping but don't be alarmed. You will be able to test in two weeks from today. If the process worked you will be pregnant and don't' need to return back to the clinic but if the process fails we can begin next month."

"Okay," says Audrey with a smile. "Thank-you so much," she says.

"You're welcome, I hope that this works for you," he says with a smile.

"Me too," she says with a smile of her own.

Later that afternoon Audrey was laying on the couch in their apartment Joe had her taking it easy the rest of the day. He brought a sandwich into her and sat down with her on the couch. "Thanks," she says with a smile as she sat up.

"You're welcome," he says, "how are you feeling?"

"I feel all right," she says. "I'm feeling some cramping but he said that's normal."

"Do you think my sperm is attacking your egg?"

She lets out a laugh and says, "maybe it is. I hope that it is so we can have this baby."

"Me too," he says. "I don't know if I can wait two weeks for the results."

"Me either," she says, "but supposedly in the next 7-10 days if we did conceive I could experience implantation bleeding. I don't know if I will but I'll look for it."

"Okay," he says. "So we really did this did you think it would ever happen like this between us?"

"That I would have your child and we would be raising a kid together? Not in a million years," she says. "I'm happy that I chose this path at least I know where the father comes from and his abilities. I really want to have a little boy that looks like you and you know be the playground player."

He let out a laugh and says, "I wasn't a playground player but I was a heartbreaker. I want a little boy too because I couldn't imagine having a little girl with her mother's promiscuous abilities."

"Oh but she will have my aggressive strong willed attitude," she smiles.

"That's another scary thing," he jokes, "but seriously I want a healthy baby boy or girl it doesn't matter. I will love it no matter what. Although I could have a daddy's little girl."

"And I could have a mama's boy but I am with you I just want a healthy baby and most importantly I want this work so I don't have to do it again but thank-you for doing this with me. I owe you so much."

"You owe me nothing," he says with a smile. "I would do anything for my best friend," he smiles but for the first time in his life Audrey is more than just a best friend, she's something more and seeing her smile Joe swears he has some type of feelings of attraction for her. "We'll just wait out these two weeks with a lot of prayer and hope," he says.

"Absolutely," she says with a smile as she reaches up and kisses his cheek. "I love you, Joe."

"I love you too," he says with a soft smile feeling the electricity her soft kiss sent through his body. "Let's eat," he says with a smile as they begin to eat together.

 ***A/N: What do you think should I keep writing this story? Are you still interested? What do you think of Audrey and Scott, do you think she will give him a chance? Do you believe that she loves him? Why do you think she's scared to be emotionally attached to guys? What about Joe and Audrey? Are they starting to develop feelings for each other? What do you think of them going through with the procedure? Do you think it worked? Please review and thank you for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

Over the next couple weeks Joe continued moving into Audrey's New York apartment. He was excited to be sharing a place with his best friend and possibly raising a child with her. Audrey was looking forward to Joe being in the apartment with her. She had always wanted to share an apartment with her best friend but never got the opportunity to do so. She was excited to say the least as Joe had finally completed his move a couple days prior. The last couple weeks were also a waiting period for Audrey and Joe as to whether she had gotten pregnant or not. Audrey had followed all the instructions the doctor gave her as far as not drinking, no unprotected intercourse as it could affect the procedure and she could end up pregnant with the wrong guy. Audrey felt no different in the weeks leading up into the big week it was that they would find out if she was pregnant or not. She was feeling like it hadn't happened and she knew there was a possibility the procedure failed the first time. She understood that as did Joe and they were willing to try again after the Christmas holiday and after the New Year. They both had the expense to pay to have it done again so that wasn't a problem for them. Another thing that transpired for Joe and Audrey in the last couple weeks is Audrey began to date Scott a little more than she had before. She finally gave in and went on a date with him. Joe was less than thrilled with their budding relationship or their new dating status. He couldn't figure out why but he knew it had something to do with the way he was starting to see Audrey after all the years they have been friends he was pretty sure he was starting to develop feelings for her or he had always had feelings for her but he kept them hidden over the years.

Audrey's alarm went off a little earlier than normal at 5 am a couple days before Christmas because it was the day she was going to test to find out if she was having a baby or not and she was going to travel with Joe to Florida to spend Christmas with their families. Scott groaned as he held Audrey in his arms as he had spent the night before to get in one last night with Audrey before she went to Florida. "Make it stop," he breathed onto her neck. "It's too early."

"For you," she said with a smile. "It's just in time for me. I have to go take a test and then I have to get ready to go to the airport with Joe to go home for Christmas."

"Do you really have to go?" he asked. "I would rather you stayed home with me and we spend Christmas together," he said as he kissed her neck softly. "I want to spend Christmas with you. I'm going to be all alone."

"I'm sorry, Scott but I want to be with my family this year on Christmas," she said as she sat up as she broke from his grasp. "God knows I have missed enough Christmas celebrations with them."

"When are you coming back?" he asked.

"After New Year's," she answered. "I know I'm going to miss the big New Year's celebration in Times Square but I want to enjoy the Pensacola Beach celebration this year."

"Oh," he said. "So are you nervous about taking this test?"

"A little but it's up to God if I got pregnant or not," she answered.

"Well, if you didn't get pregnant would you be willing to try the old fashioned way with me. We could have a baby together," he said.

"Scott, we're not even really together," she said getting out of bed. She walked over to her dresser and grabbed the pregnancy test. "We're only dating and I'm not ready for the commitment it takes to try the old fashioned way. If I wanted to do it that way I would have thrown my birth control out a long time ago and allowed you to try but I didn't. Don't ask me. Joe and I have an agreement and this is something we want to do."

"Does he have to live here?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered as she opened the box holding the test. "I want him to live here especially if we have a baby together that way we can raise the baby together."

"And what if we get into a relationship?" he asked.

"We'll talk about that if the time comes," she said as she walked out of the room. She made her way to the bathroom and shut the door as Scott got out of bed to make coffee for himself, Audrey and Joe. Audrey was getting ready to take the test when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she said. She smiled as Joe came into the bathroom dressed in a Georgia Tech t-shirt, sweatpants and his long hair pulled up into a messy bun. "Good morning," she said with a smile.

"Good morning," he said with sleep in his eyes and his voice. "You're lucky I love you or I would not be up this early," he said.

"I'm sorry. What time did you get in last night?"

"Last night?" he asked. "Try this morning. I got in at 3 this morning. I'm tired, Audrey. I plan to sleep all the way to P-Cola," he said.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But at least you get a couple days off to spend with your family and my family for Christmas."

"Yeah," he said, "so did you take it yet?"

"I'm getting ready to take it right now," she showed him the test.

"Oh do you want me to leave the room while you do your thing?" he asked as he wiped his eyes and yawned.

"No you're fine," she said with a smile. She followed the instructions of the test and pulled her underwear down as Joe stood against the door while she did what she needed to do. She put the cap on it and put it on the sink before she pulled her underwear and sweatpants up. "It should only be a couple minutes," she said nervously.

"Okay," he said as he watched her take a seat on the side of the tub to wait after she washed her hands. He was hopeful that it would be positive. He wanted to have a child and he wanted it with Audrey. "So, Scott is spending the night here now?" he asked.

"It was late," she answered. "We went out for a late dinner because I stayed at the office late because I had to finish things up so everything is done before we leave for Florida. He took me out to dinner last night afterward, we came back here and hung out. It was late so he spent the night. Nothing happened if that's what you're thinking. I told him I wasn't having sex until I got the results of my pregnancy test. He understood so we just talked and went to sleep in my bed. That's it."

"It's not my business if you sleep with him or not but I just don't want anything to jeopardize the results of our pregnancy test you know what I mean?"

"I know, Joe, you don't have to worry about it. I haven't had sex since we had the procedure done well sex with a man anyway," she said.

"Too much information, Audrey," he said with a smile as he shook his head.

"Look, I have needs too and I needed them to be satisfied," she said as she suddenly felt dizzy. "Whoa," she said.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I just got dizzy for a second," she said. "It scared me."

"I'm sure," he said. "So you think anything is going to come out of you and Scott."

"Probably not," she said, "I don't know. I'm thinking about it. It depends on how he does with his drinking. He hasn't done much drinking lately so maybe there is something there. I don't really know, Joe. There is only one thing I am worried about," she said as she stood up. She walked over to the sink and Joe couldn't help but eye her up. She was beautiful. Her dark hair was pulled into a messy bun showing off her beautiful face, her black tank top a little snug, exposing her stomach and her sweatpants a size too big as they hung off her hips. She was beautiful. She turned to Joe and smiled her gorgeous smile, her dark brown eyes sparkling through her long eyelashes. She held the test in her hands and said, "we're having a baby!"

"What?" he asked. "It worked?" he asked with a smile.

"Oh yeah," she said with a smile as she handed him the test.

Joe looked down at the test in front of him, two lines as dark as they could be showed she was pregnant. Joe picked her up causing her to squeal as he hugged her. "We're having a baby!" he said with excitement as she smiled. "I'm going to be a dad!"

"And I'm going to be a mom," she said with a smile as she looked down into his dark brown eyes as he looked into her dark brown eyes. "We're having a baby!" she said with a smile and so much excitement that she could hardly contain. She wasn't sure if she was ready to tell her parents or if Joe wanted to tell his parents over their trip to Pensacola or if they wanted to wait to tell them until they were in the safe zone of the second trimester. A magnetic pull between them pulled Audrey's lips to Joe's. Her lips met his full thick lips as she kissed him softly and passionately as she took her tongue along his soft lips. He parted his lips allowing her access to his mouth. Their tongues met and intertwined together as they shared a soft passionate kiss. "I'm sorry," she said as he put her down and they broke the kiss. "I didn't mean to…" she said before his lips were on hers again, kissing her deep and with so much passion. "Joe," she said, "this can't happen, it can't," she said breathlessly as the kiss broke. "It can't."

"I'm sorry, Audrey," he said, "I'm sorry."

"Me too," she said but she was confused. She had never felt so much passion in a kiss as she did with the one she shared with Joe. It was perfect, it felt perfect but because of Scott she knew nothing could ever happen between her and Joe. Besides they were best friends. She couldn't be in love with her best friend and he couldn't be in love with his. It wasn't supposed to happen like that, that wasn't their agreement. It had to remain platonic. "Well, I think I should go tell Scott," she said.

"Yeah and I think I should go get things ready. Are your bags packed, you ready to go?"

"Yeah," she said.

"I'll get your bags for you and load up the rental."

"Thanks," she said and she felt bad because she knew he felt the same way about her as he felt about him. They stood looking at each other for a few minutes before she said, "yeah I am going to go tell Scott." She let out a deep breath before she walked out of the bathroom as he watched her. He let out a deep breath before he made his way to his room to start getting his things ready to go.

"Good morning again," said Scott with a smile. "You look happy and beautiful," he said with a smile as he kissed her lips softly.

"Good morning," she said softly.

"Coffee?" he asked.

"I think I'm going to skip out on the coffee," she said, "at least for a few weeks, maybe 36 more weeks," she said with a smile.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "It was positive. I'm having a baby, well, Joe and I are having a baby!"

"Congratulations!" he said with a smile. "I'm so happy for you!" he said before taking her in his arms. "This is what you wanted," he said wrapping his arms around her waist.

"It is," she said wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'm not even sure what to say or think. It doesn't seem real," she said, "for it to happen on the first try is amazing. I can't believe it happened that fast."

"Neither can I," he said with a smile before he kissed her lips softly and they shared a soft passionate kiss. "Does this mean I'm going to be its daddy?"

"Scott," she said pulling away from him. "Joe is its daddy and he always will be. I don't know what you'll be to it and I don't even know what you will be or what you are to me. I just know I'm going to be a mom."

"You're going to be an amazing mom," he said with a smile. "What time do you have to leave for the airport?"

"7," she said looking at the clock on the microwave. "Which means I need to start getting dressed and ready to go."

"All right, I'm going to make you a nice healthy breakfast for the baby," he said with a smile as he placed his hand on her stomach. "I want to be in its life," he said. "Please let me."

"That's a decision for Joe and me to make," she said, "please don't make this harder than it is," she said. She was already confused over what happened in the bathroom with Joe. She didn't need Scott confusing her anymore that morning. She just wanted to focus on her baby and how amazing it was to have a beautiful creation growing in her womb. He kissed the top of her head and congratulated her once more before she went into her room to get herself dressed for her plane ride while he started to make her breakfast.

Audrey was grateful Scott made her breakfast but the baby was not so grateful as she experienced her first wave of morning sickness as she walked into the kitchen to the smell of eggs, bacon and sausage. The smell and look of the bacon had her running to the bathroom while the taste of the eggs had her running to the bathroom. She only ended up eating the fruit and drinking the juice. She felt bad but the baby liked what it liked and didn't like what it didn't like. Shortly after breakfast Scott and Audrey said goodbye to one another and her and Joe were on their way to the airport. Their car ride was done in silence as was their flight to Pensacola. Joe slept the entire flight while Audrey stayed awake reading books about pregnancy, running back and forth to the bathroom due to morning sickness and thinking about everything that transpired that morning. She had feelings for Joe that she had tried to keep hidden, tried to control but after their kiss that morning they were harder to control, harder for her to contain and then there was Scott. She was having some type of attraction to Scott. He was so accepting and so willing to accept Audrey even though she had gone through artificial insemination and he wanted to be a part of the baby's life. Not many men would want to have any part of that. She knew he truly cared about her she just wasn't sure what to do. She had never been more confused in her life.

When they arrived in Pensacola Joe and Audrey went their separate ways. Audrey went to her parents' house while Joe went to his. They made an agreement to meet up on the day of Christmas Eve to get things together to tell their families they were having a baby and the couple days apart would give them time to think about what they wanted, what they were going to do and to think about the kiss. It was a rough couple days for Audrey as she had the worst morning sickness ever. She couldn't eat anything, she couldn't smell anything because almost everything made her sick. She covered it up by telling her parents that she had some type of stomach bug without telling them that she was pregnant. She survived on crackers and water and ginger. It was the only thing that kept the nausea down. She was miserable and working in her parents' restaurant didn't help her much either especially the seafood she couldn't stomach the seafood. She had no idea how she was going to make it on Christmas Eve when that's all they had for dinner.

Christmas Eve morning Joe arrived at Audrey's parents' house to pick her up so that they could go shopping for a couple of books they needed for their announcement as well as two ornaments that they had ordered one for Audrey's parents and one for Joe's parents. "How are you feeling today?" asked Joe as Audrey got into his SUV.

"Like crap, thank-you for asking," she said with a smile. "This baby is kicking my butt."

"It seems like it," he said. "Have you eaten today?" he asked.

"I had crackers, had some ginger tea but that was about it. I just can't eat anything big. I don't know what I am going to do tonight at the family dinner. I can't stand the smell of seafood and my mom is already cooking seafood. I had to get out of there."

"I don't know, Audrey but you'll figure it out. Do you think we should really be announcing this tonight? Are we sure you're pregnant?"

"Well, the morning sickness and the exhaustion confirm it," she said with a smile, "and not to mention the tender breasts," she said. "I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant and I don't have my period so yes I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant."

"Okay," he said, "this is pretty exciting. I think my parents will be excited."

"Mine too," she said with a smile as he drove through the Pensacola traffic. "We must be crazy to go out shopping today. We've been home for two days now we could have already done this."

"I know," he said. "I don't know why we didn't."

"Me either," she said. "So I scheduled my first prenatal."

"Really?" he asked. "When is that?"

"I know you're more available on Thursdays so I got one for the Thursday after New Year's that way you can go."

"Awesome," he said with a smile. "I can't believe I am going to be a dad, Audrey. I'm going to be a dad. I never thought it was going to happen. I'm kind of scared."

"Me too," she said, "but we'll figure it out together."

"Yeah," he said. "How is Scotty boy doing?"

"He's good. He's been checking in on me to make sure I'm doing all right. He tells me he misses me every day. I feel like that's doing the most."

"He likes you, Audrey," he said as he looked at his best friend. She was even more beautiful to him knowing she was carrying his child. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, black boots and a white sweater with her dark hair pulled into a low ponytail. She hardly wore any make up because her natural beauty outshined anything. She didn't need mascara and she didn't need lipstick as her lips were perfectly pink and plump. She was enough to still a man's heart. He was kicking himself because he never wanted to notice it until it was too late for him.

"I guess there are some feelings there. I don't know, Joe. I'm just confused about a lot right now but my main thing is our baby," she said with a smile as she put her hand on her stomach. "That is number 1," she said with a smile as he reached over and touched her stomach.

"I don't disagree," he smiled. "It is number 1 over anything and everything. We're going to be all right," he said.

"Yes we are," she smiled at him. He was as equally as gorgeous as she was. He was perfect. His hair was always perfect and soft, his lips were full and thick, he had the perfect mouth. His eyes were dark and beautiful. He was a powerhouse and it only made her imagine what their child would look like but she knew with their genes their child would be beautiful. Joe was dressed in a white t-shirt, dark jeans with his dark hair pulled into a low bun. He smelled as good as he looked. She knew in her mind Scott did not compare to Joe in the looks department not that she based anything on looks but she was kicking herself that she kept her feelings for Joe hidden for so long and now it was too late.

Joe and Audrey spent the morning fighting the last minute shoppers at Target and the mall to get what they needed for their announcement. They followed it up by getting their pictures taken for part of their announcement. Joe dropped Audrey back off at her house while he went to his parents' house to get ready for that night while Audrey printed off the picture they took for that night. She smiled as she looked at it. It was perfect. She followed it up by taking a little nap and then she decided to take a shower and get ready for their night of celebration. Audrey made her way downstairs dressed in a white sweater dress with a pair of black boots that went to her knees, her dark hair hanging down to the middle of her back. Nausea set in as she walked into the dining room to see the meal of the seven fishes on the table. She ran to the bathroom as her mom was putting out the octopus. Her mom looked at her as she came back into the dining room. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I think so," said Audrey. "Is this all we're having for dinner? No pasta, JUST seafood?"

"What's the matter you always enjoyed seafood before," she said, "why don't you enjoy it now?" she asked.

"Just not in the mood for seafood," she said as her stomach turned. "So there's no pasta?"

Her mom smiled and said, "for you Audrey I made some lasagna and I made some baked ziti." She looked at her daughter, she looked her up and down to see if anything had changed with her but she couldn't see anything noticeably different about her. She seemed to have a new glow to her. "Everything all right?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, Mama," she said with a smile. "I'm going to go into the living room now unless you need help."

"No," she said with a smile. "You go relax and take it easy," she said with a smile before Audrey walked into the living room where she hung out with her brothers until it was time for them to eat.

After Audrey and her family had dinner they went to mass at their family church where they met up with Joe's family to celebrate Christmas Eve before they went back to Audrey's parents' house where Joe's family was joining into the celebration so they could make their big announcement. "So," said Audrey as she and Joe sat down on the couch in the living room. "Joe and I have a present for everyone," she said with a smile.

"We definitely do," said Joe with a smile as he got the wrapped presents for their parents. "First open this one together," he said handing them the framed picture of him and Audrey.

"Should we be worried?" asked Audrey's dad.

"No," she said with a smile. "There's nothing to be worried about, just open it together."

"Okay," they said in unison as Joe wrapped his arm around Audrey as they watched them open the gift.

"I don't get it," said Joe's mom, "It's you and Joe reading Dr. Seuss books," she said. "I don't understand."

"What are the books mom?" asked Joe with a smile.

"Hop on Pop and Are you My Mother?" she questioned. "I don't get it."

"Wait," said Audrey's mom. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

"What do you think it means?" asked Audrey with a smile.

"You're pregnant?" she asked.

"I am," said Audrey with a smile. "Joe and I are having a baby! We don't know the due date yet but we will soon. I'm thinking the beginning of September possibly middle of September."

"Oh my God!" said Joe's mom. "I'm going to have a grandchild."

"You are," said Audrey with a smile.

"This is news," said Audrey's brother. "Artificial insemination?"

"On the first try," said Audrey as she stood up to hug her mom.

"Congratulations!" said her brother, "so what does this mean for you and Joe?"

"I'm not sure," said Audrey as she hugged her brother. "We have a lot to discuss but Joe is living with me in New York."

"This is an untraditional way of doing things," said her father, "but I'm happy for you both. You're going to make wonderful parents. I love you, Audrey."

"I love you, Papa," she said as she hugged him before he hugged Joe. Everything seemed perfect in that moment. She almost forgot how untraditional everything was. It almost felt like she and Joe were married announcing a pregnancy but they weren't, they weren't anything. It was complicated. It was different yet special at the same time.

Later that night after the celebration Joe and Audrey were in her room talking. "That went well," he said. "I didn't expect it to go so well."

"Neither did I but I am glad they are happy. I'm happy."

"I'm happy too," he said with a smile as they were sitting on her bed.

"Of course we have to draw up some type of agreement. I can do that when we get back to New York."

"Why do we need an agreement?" he asked.

"Legality reasons," she said with a shrug. "Scott asked if he could be in the baby's life," she said.

"I don't know, Audrey," he said, "I mean I guess I can't stop that from happening."

"He wants to be daddy but I told him you're daddy. I guess he could be daddy too if he really wanted to be but that is only if this whole thing goes further than just dating."

"I think it's too soon to worry about all that but I know I'm going to be with you every step of the way during this pregnancy. I'm going to go to every appointment and when the baby is born I am going to be there. I'm going to make sure this baby has everything it needs."

"Me too," she said with a smile. "Thank-you," she said with a smile.

"For what?" he asked.

"Your sperm and helping me create this baby, this little life," she said touching her stomach.

"You're welcome but thank-you for allowing me to help you create that little life," he said with a smile as he placed his hand on her stomach. Their eyes met and the same magnetic pull between them brought them closer. "I love you, Audrey," he whispered against her lips.

"I love you too," she said against his before they shared a soft passionate kiss. The passion from their kiss ignited as Joe laid her back on her bed, he broke the kiss to lay soft kisses on her neck as she undid the bun in his hair. His hands wandered her body under her sweater dress. She could have stopped him but she didn't want to stop him. She wanted him. It felt right for the first time in her life. "Maybe, you should take me out of this dress," she said with a smile.

"Maybe," he said with a smile of his own as he allowed her to sit up. He helped her out of her dress exposing her white laced bra where her breasts were toppling over the top. Her breasts were swollen and full. She was beautiful in her glow. He kissed her lips once more before kissing her breasts softly before kneading them and massaging them as his kisses trailed down her stomach to the top of her nylons, he pulled them down exposing her white lace underwear matching her bra. He spread her legs softly and kissed her inner thighs before kissing her sex covered in lace. He sat up to unbutton his shirt.

"Joe," she begged. "Don't stop."

"Give me a minute, let me get ready," he smiled as she sat up helping him out of his shirt exposing his firm chest. He wasn't sporting perfect abs or a six pack like Scott but he was still a beautiful man. He was thick and that's what Audrey preferred. She smiled as he laid her back on the bed covering her body with his, kissing her passionately and deep. She ran her fingers through his soft hair. Joe's hand ran up and down Audrey's freshly waxed leg. "Tell me what you want, Audrey," he said.

"I want you," she said, "and skip the foreplay. I just want you," she said.

"Okay," he said with a smile. He removed himself from her to remove his pants and his black briefs. Audrey removed her underwear and bra quickly. Joe's thick erection was exposed as Audrey laid back on her bed. She had never seen him aroused before, she had never been this close to him before. He was larger in that department than Scott was. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"I'm sure," she smiled as he smiled at her. "Come here," she said with a smile as he made his way over to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips before he covered her body with his. He covered her body, spreading her legs softly as his erection settled between her legs. He slowly entered her with a moan as she groaned in pleasure as she felt him fill her. "Joe," she breathed as he started to move, slowly, passionately making every movement long and slow as he made love to her. It was different, things would forever be different between them. He hit every sensitive spot of her sex making her moan with pleasure, he moaned as she tightened around his thick erection. He thrust into her deep and slow, taking his time, making it last as he kissed her lips softly. She moaned against his lips as he continued making love to her. "Joe," she cried out as the passion ripped through her body, her no longer being able to control it, her nails digging into his back as her toes curled, the quake of her body as she found her climax. "Joe," she cried out as he continued moving. He kissed her lips softly as he thrust into her one last time.

"AUDREY!" he cried out as he found his release and emptied himself into her. He kissed her lips as he finished his release, filling her with his seed she craved a couple weeks before. Out of breath he slowly removed himself from her and laid down next to her. "That was unexpected."

"Unexpected but amazing," she said as she cuddled up next to him as he wrapped his arms around her. "I never expected that."

"Me either," he said still catching his breath.

"Getting old over there?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Out of practice," he answered with a smile. "I haven't had sex for a very long time."

"Oh," she said softly as she rested her head on his chest as she traced his tattoo. "It's late," she said looking at the clock. "I think it's Christmas."

Joe looked at the clock seeing it was 2 in the morning. "Merry Christmas," he said with a smile before he kissed the top of her head. "And Merry Christmas to you," he said to the baby as he placed his hand on her stomach. "Do you think I should stay?"

"I would be offended if you didn't," she said with a smile. "Merry Christmas," she said with a smile before she kissed her lips. "I meant what I said, Joe, I love you."

"I love you too," he said with a smile before he kissed her forehead. "If I knew this was going to happen we could have saved the money and just let life happen this way."

"It was more likely to happen with it being done through procedure it was guaranteed."

"Yeah," he said, "so what does this mean for us?" he asked as her phone started ringing.

"I don't know," she said with a smile.

"Leave it," he said with a smile. "I think I am ready to go again," he said with a smile.

"You're almost as bad as me," she smiled as he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her softly as he rolled her over to her back as her phone kept ringing. She broke the kiss to answer it.

"Just leave it, Audrey," he pleaded with her but she grabbed it anyway. He laid beside her as she answered the phone. He kissed her shoulder and played with her hair.

"This is she," she said as Roman played with her hair. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Oh my God, is he okay?" she asked causing Joe to become concerned. "Is he going to make it?" she asked. "I'm in Florida," she said. "I can take the next flight out and be in New York by sunrise," she said as Joe sat up. "All right. I'll be there," she said as she sat up. "Goodbye," she said as she hung up the phone. Joe looked at her, "Scott was in an accident, a really bad accident. I have to go back to New York," she said as she got out of bed. "He put me down as his emergency contact they aren't sure he's going to make it."

"Wow," said Joe as he got out of bed with her. "I'm going to New York with you."

"Joe, you really don't have to," she said.

"I want to," he said with a smile. "You get dressed, I'll get dressed and find us a flight."

"Okay," she said. "I just hope he's okay he does have two young girls," she said. "For their sake you know?" she asked as she put on sweat pants and a t-shirt. She wasn't happy to leave her parents on Christmas but Scott put her down as more than his emergency contact. She would be the one to make the decision if he lived or if he died if she needed to. She didn't like that type of power but there was so much more she had to think about. She had to figure out how to tell Scott about her and Joe, she needed to figure out what all of it meant for everyone involved. She was stuck in a place she didn't want to be stuck in which is why for the last few years she had kept it simple, getting attached to no one but now she was attached to both Scott and Joe which made everything so complicated.

 ***A/N: Is anyone still interested in this story? Should I continue? What do you think about Audrey dating Scott? Is it a mistake? What about Audrey being pregnant? What did you think about Scott asking to be the baby's dad and being in its life? What about the kiss between Joe and Audrey? What do you think Audrey and Joe will do now that they crossed that line they had been trying not to cross? Are you surprised they had sex? What do you think this means for Scott and Audrey? Do you think Scott will make it through after his accident? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

***I AM BACK! SUMMER BREAK IS HERE AND I HAVE TIME TO UPDATE AGAIN* Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much and thank-you for your patience in waiting for an update. I really plan to work hard on this story before I go back to work in August.**

 **AUDREY's POINT OF VIEW:**

This isn't exactly how I expected to spend my Christmas morning and I know this isn't how Joe planned to spend his. I left a note for my family to let them know that something came up and I had to fly back to New York unexpectedly. We were having such a good time celebrating our first Christmas together in years including the announcement that I am having a baby. I place my hand on my stomach as Joe and I ride in a car to the hospital in New York after a flight back to the City. It's nearly sunrise as we make our way to the hospital. "You know I read too much stress isn't good for the baby," says Joe.

"I'm all right," I say with a smile as I look at him. "You know you really didn't need to come with me."

"I didn't want you to travel alone," he says. "And I think we need to talk about what happened between us and what's going on with you and Scott."

"I don't know what's going on between Scott and me but obviously he really cares about me to make me his emergency contact. I didn't know it was that serious."

"The dude has been trying to get you to date him since forever ago according to you. You didn't think it was that serious? He loves you, Audrey and so do I. I really do love you and I want to be with you and after last night I think you want to be with me too. Shouldn't we be together for our child?"

"Who says I want to be with anyone? I told you when we did this artificial insemination that I did it because I didn't want the commitment of a relationship. I don't want marriage or any of that stuff. I want a baby that's it and some casual sex. I don't want a relationship. What Scott and I have I don't even know what it is. I mean it feels like more and when I left New York to go to Florida we were trying to start something. I shouldn't have slept with you last night. As much as I wanted you I shouldn't have taken you. It makes everything so much more complicated. It wasn't supposed to be like this but we do need to talk about us, the baby, Scott and everything there is so much to be discussed. I don't want to do it tonight and not on Christmas okay?"

"Okay," he says, "but please don't get stressed for the baby, okay?" he asks.

"Okay," I say as I take his hand into mine and intertwining our fingers as we continue our way to the hospital.

"I do hope for his kids' sakes and your sake that he is okay," says Joe.

"Me too," I say as we continue to the hospital. The usual busy streets of the city are clear of traffic and only have a car or two on the road as the sun starts to rise over the skyline of New York City.

When we arrive at the hospital I make my way over to the receptionist. "Hello, I am Audrey Romano, I was called about my friend Scott Richardson he was in a terrible car accident," I explain.

"Yes, Ms. Romano, your boyfriend is in the ICU right now. Visiting hours haven't started yet but please have a seat in the waiting room. I will have his doctor come talk to you," she says.

"Thank-you," I say as Joe and I make our way to the chairs in the hospital waiting room. "If you want to go back to our apartment you can I will be all right. You don't have to wait for me."

"I don't want you to be alone," he says. "If the cafeteria is open do you want me to get you something? Are you hungry or thirsty?"

"I just need some water but as for food you know the baby doesn't like when I eat anything. I'm feeling kind of nauseous right now. I just need some water for now," I say.

"I will get you some water," he says as I take a seat.

"Thanks, Joe," I say before he walks off to get some water for me. I lay my head back in the chair it's been a long night. I just want to get some rest. I feel like I could throw up any second so far this pregnancy has not been easy. I didn't know morning sickness could be this bad and it has been a rude awakening.

"Scott Richardson," says a male voice.

"I'm right here," I say as I stand up with a groan.

"No, I'm right here," says his ex-wife Zandra and I groan some more. I can't stand Zandra with a passion. I hated her when they were married and I hate her now. She's not a fan of me is what I can say. I used to hate when she would come to the office to visit Scott on his lunch breaks and she would pick him up from work at the end of the day. I personally felt that she was threatened by me or she didn't trust Scott so she needed to come babysit him. I don't know I stayed out of their drama. "Of course you would be here, Audrey, you were always so concerned with Scott I'm not surprised that you're here."

"I'm actually surprised to see that you're here, Zandra I mean after all you hate Scott with a burning passion so why would you even be here?" I ask.

"Audrey," she begins as Joe comes back with a bottle of water. "You are so young and naïve and foolish. A mistress is NOT a wife," she says. "I am Scott's wife and the mother of his children."

"Yes, the children you barely allow him to see," I fire back not acknowledging Joe.

"Why would I ever allow my children around a home wrecking whore? You know it's your fault Scott and I divorced anyway," she says. "Let's not put on a show for anyone."

"Actually, you two were separated when Scott and I began our affair. I never slept with him while you were married. I would never do that to anyone. And Scott always approached me. I never approached him," I explain. "But you really have no business being here," I say. "The hospital called me as I am Scott's emergency contact and I flew here all the way from Pensacola with morning sickness so forgive me that I am not in the best mood to deal with your usual bullshit, Zandra."

"Morning sickness? Does this mean you and Scott are having a baby?"

"It means it is none of your business," I say, "and just so you and I are clear it is NOT Scott's baby. Scott and I aren't even really in a relationship."

"I know you just sleep with him and you all expect me to send my children to his home where he's sleeping with some woman that he had an affair with while he was still married. You can sit there and say over and over again that nothing happened while we were married but I am not a fool Audrey, I know about your business trips with my husband and I know about your late nights at the office my question is do you feel comfortable sleeping your way to the top?"

"Whatever, Zandra," I say. "You can think what you want," I say taking my water from Joe. He looks confused as Zandra and I go rounds in front of him. "You are never going to believe nothing was going on between Scott and I until after you divorced and for the record I worked my ass to get where I am. I didn't sleep my way to the top."

"Sure," she says as the doctor clears his throat. "I'm sorry, I am Zandra Richardson, Scott Richardson's wife. Is Scott Richardson okay?"

"Ex-wife," I say, "I am Scott Richardson's emergency contact Audrey Romano, I was called about Scott is he okay, is he going to be okay?" I ask with concern.

"Ms. Romano," says the doctor, "Please step aside with me while we talk."

"All right," I say as we step off to the side. His tone doesn't sound good and as an attorney; a powerful attorney, I know how to read people well and his expression does not look good which means it is a serious situation.

"I am Dr. Thomas and I am the doctor on Scott's case," he introduces himself. "Mr. Richardson was involved in a serious car accident tonight. He nearly killed himself and killed innocent people. I'm not sure where he was coming from, where he was going or what he was doing what I do know is he was under the influence of alcohol. Mr. Richardson's blood alcohol level was way above the legal limit. He could have killed someone tonight. The police are involved because of the alcohol level in his blood but the other family may press charges. Mr. Richardson is in a lot of trouble with the law," he says and in that moment I know Scott's career as an attorney is over because he broke the law and he could face jail time for drinking under the influence. You can't be an attorney and have a charge on your records. "But luckily for Mr. Richardson he is going to make a full recovery from his injuries. He is in the ICU right now due to a head injury but there is no bleeding on the brain or significant damage to his brain however he did suffer a collapsed lung and a few broken ribs. All of which should be healed in about 2-3 weeks. Mr. Richardson got lucky tonight. It could have been a lot more tragic for him."

"And the family he was in the accident with; are they okay?"

"I am not allowed to give you that information," he says. "I apologize, Ms. Romano."

"Thank-you," I say. "When will I be able to see Scott?"

"Visiting hours don't usually begin until 9 in the morning but since it is Christmas and you had a long flight I will make an exception and allow you into the ICU a little early to see Scott. He has been asking about you," he says.

"He has?" I ask.

"Yes, he wanted to see you when you arrived. If you could follow me I will take you to his room."

"Give me a second I have to tell my boyfriend that I am going back to see Scott," I say but I'm not sure why I called Joe my boyfriend but it felt so right to call him that. I walk over to Joe who looks to be confused as Zandra stands with her arms crossed next to him.

"Want to explain what's going on, Audrey?" he asks. "I'm more confused than anything."

"Joe, now isn't the time to explain or talk about anything. I'm going back to see Scott. I will be back," I say.

"Wait a minute," says Zandra, "I am Scott's wife I should be able to go back to see him before you do," she says.

"Well, obviously Scott doesn't feel that way," I say. "Joe, I'll be back soon. If you want to go back to the apartment to get some sleep I will meet you there later."

"I'm not the one that needs sleep, Audrey. You need sleep I think this is all too much for you especially right now while you're pregnant. You're putting yourself through way too much. You don't need this stress, Audrey our baby doesn't need this stress. I think you need to go back to the apartment rest a little bit then come back to see Scott. Let Zandra go see her husband then you can come back."

"Joe, I'm fine. I promise. You go get some rest. I won't be here long I promise and I will be back at the apartment with you. I promise."

"Okay," he says with concern. "I just want you to be healthy."

"I'm good I promise," I say before I kiss his cheek softly. "Go get some rest."

"All right if you need me call me," he says.

"I will," I smile before I walk past Zandra and follow the doctor back to see Scott.

The doctor and I make our way up to the floor to the ICU and walk down the long hallway to Scott's room. He opens the door and allows me to walk in first. I am not shocked to see Scott banged and bruised up from his accident. He looks pretty rough but it is a lesson to be learned. I have been on him about his drinking and telling him he had a problem. Hopefully this is what pushes him into getting the help that he needs. "Audrey," says Scott in a raspy voice. "I'm sorry I ruined your Christmas."

"I'm sorry that you did too. I haven't spent Christmas with my family in years," I say as I make my way over to the bed. "Then I get the phone call that you're in the hospital because you were in a terrible accident. You fucked up, Scott. You know that your job is pretty much gone. Was it worth losing your career for? Was drinking worth losing your family for? I don't get it Scott. You had the whole world in front of you, you work for a great law firm, you have a girl that's willing to have sex with you whenever you need it but won't tie you down and you have kids yet you choose to go out and throw it all away."

"I admit I made a mistake. I didn't think I drank that much. I thought I could have made it home. I didn't know I was going to wreck my car."

"Scott, you should never think you can make it home," I say sitting next to his bed. "You should never drink and drive that is a stupid decision. You could have killed yourself tonight or most importantly you could have killed someone else tonight. You could have ruined someone's whole life tonight but you thought you could make it home," I say. "You fucked up, Scott."

"I know, Audrey. You don't have to keep telling me that I fucked up. I get it. I fucked up. I'm sorry."

"I'm not the person you should be apologizing to. What are you going to do now? You could go to jail. They are going to press charges against you." I say shaking my head I am disappointed in him. I thought he was smarter than that. "Why did you do it? And you were just asking if you could be my baby's father then you go and pull this shit," I say the anger in my voice. "You're foolish, Scott, you threw everything away for a few beers."

"I get it, Audrey. Are you going to keep beating me up over it? I did it because Zandra and I had a fight about me getting the kids last night. I wanted to get the kids, it was my night to get the kids but she decided I didn't need them. You were away and I didn't have you to bury myself into, bury my pain into. I love my kids, Audrey. You know that. She's keeping them from me. I want to see my kids."

"I know you do but you could have left them without a father last night," I say calming myself down for my own child so I don't upset myself into a miscarriage. Joe is right. This is too much; way too much for me right now. "You didn't care about them last night and just so you know Zandra is down in the waiting room causing a scene calling me a home wrecking whore blaming me for the demise of your marriage. She said you're her husband."

Scott rolls his gorgeous blue eyes and takes my hand into his. "I'm sorry, Audrey. I am truly sorry. I fucked up you're right. I'm sorry please forgive me, Zandra has no business being here. It's partially her fault I am here she wouldn't let me have my kids. I just wanted to spend Christmas with them. I don't want to see her, Audrey."

"You don't have to," I say. "Trust me you don't have to. I am an attorney if you want me to be your attorney so you get more time with your kids I can help you out with that. And you're going to need an attorney to defend you for your drinking charge. We are going to try to keep you out of jail. I think you need help but jail is not the place you're going to get it besides if you go to jail you're in a lot of trouble. There are a lot of criminals that you sent away that have a vengeance against you if you get sent to prison you may not make it out alive. I will do my best to keep you out of jail."

"Audrey, you're amazing. Once again I am sorry. How was your Christmas going?"

"It was going pretty good until I got a phone call that you were in an accident," I say.

"I'm sorry. Did you tell your parents about the baby?"

"We did tell our parents about the baby. They are pretty excited. I hope nothing happens to the baby after all this stress."

"Once again, I am sorry, Audrey. What about us? Are we okay?"

"Scott, I don't know I really don't know. You need to get help. You need a lot of help and need to fix yourself before I would ever consider an us. I have been telling you that you have a drinking problem, Scott but you just keep drinking and you keep drinking. I can't be with anyone that drinks like this. We were so close but you screwed up tonight get the help that you need and then we will talk about an us. Like I said you need help and I will do what I can to help you get that help but it's up to you. I need to get to the apartment and get some rest, Scott."

"Audrey," he says his grip tightening on my hand. "Please give me a chance. I want to be a father to your baby. I want us to be together. Please," he begs as I take my hand from his. "Please," he says as I stand up.

"Scott, my child has a father. I don't know about us being together. Get the help that you need, focus on yourself and get your life together and then maybe I would consider it."

"No, Audrey, you won't. You're going to end up with that wrestler because you two are having a kid together and he has his shit together. I'm not stupid," he says.

"Think what you want but I am going to the apartment to get some rest. You need to rest too. I will talk to you later. Bye, Scott," I say before I kiss his forehead. He tells me bye as I leave the room. I make my way to the first floor, passing Zandra on my way out the door before I call for an uber to take me back to my apartment so I can get some rest.

 **LATER THAT DAY:**

"Well, look who is finally awake," says Joe as I come out of my bedroom to the aroma of turkey in the air. "I thought you were going to sleep all day."

"I would if I could," I say. "It's been a long night and a long day. I needed that rest," I say realizing it is nearly 1 in the afternoon.

"And you need all the rest that you can get for the baby," he says as I take a seat at the island. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"Just water," I say with a smile. He's dressed up today in a nice white sweater something I haven't seen him wear since his high school days. He looks good and he smells good too with his blue jeans on and his hair pulled up into a low bun. Our child is going to be blessed with some very good looks and hopefully some really good hair. He gets into the fridge and gets me out a bottle of water. "So it smells good in here."

"I ordered us Christmas dinner I mean since we are missing dinner with our families I ordered us a Christmas dinner Turkey, baked mac and cheese, collard greens, mashed potatoes, fresh rolls, corn and green beans."

"Hello, Carbs," I say with a smile before I take a sip of my water.

"Audrey, really stop focusing on the health content of food and splurge a little bit," he says rounding the island. "We have a little baby inside of you that needs as much food as it can get," he says placing his hand on my stomach making me smile as I feel the flutters of butterflies in my stomach. I look up into his dark brown eyes as his eyes meet mine. "I love you," he says softly before his soft lips are on mine, kissing me passionately and deep. "So you broke up Scott's marriage with his wife?" he asks with an amused smile as I hold onto the bottom of his sweater.

"It's not even like that, Joe. I didn't break up their marriage she just thinks it is my fault but it's not. When I started out at that firm Scott and I were working really close together but nothing ever happened between us. She started to get insecure. I don't know why she thought anything was going on but she would bring him to work, surprise him at work and then she would take him to lunch then take him home. She would babysit him. I don't know if that's why they got divorced or if it was his drinking either way they got divorced and she blames me for it. We don't get along at all."

"I noticed," he says with a smile. "Scott definitely has a type you kind of look like Zandra."

"Everyone says that but I don't see it I do hope to look that good when I am about her age," I smile, "So Scott wants to be a father to our baby," I say.

"Absolutely not, the guy can't even take care of himself if he could he wouldn't be in that hospital bed. Besides the baby will know me as daddy, he will never be its daddy, that's our baby together Audrey. I don't mind if you two end up together and he plays a step father but I created that baby with you and I will be the one it calls daddy."

"I know," I say, "so about last night."

"Yeah about that," he says with a smile as he takes a seat next to me, taking my hand into his. "It was pretty unexpected."

"Yeah it was but obviously we both wanted it to happen. It shouldn't have happened but it did so there's no going back. I meant what I said I do love you."

"I love you too," he smiles as our fingers intertwine. "I think I have loved you for a while but over the last few weeks my feelings for you have gotten stronger."

"Mine too," I say with a smile, "but I don't want to do the commitment thing, Joe. I'm not ready for a committed relationship. I like where things are going with us but I'm not ready for the commitment of having a relationship with you. I think it would be nice since we are having this baby together but only time will tell. I'm not ruling it out, Joe."

"Neither am I," he smiles, "so there's a chance you and me could become something more?"

"I think so but I don't know what to do about Scott. I told him if he got his shit together I would talk to him about being together. I don't know what I want Joe I seriously don't but you and me need to come up with a legal document about the baby and how things will go. Are you okay with that?"

"I'm fine with that," he says. "Look, Audrey, you can do whatever you want but I'm going to be open and honest with you. I have feelings for you. I want to give us a try but I'm not going to rush you into anything or put pressure onto you about being together. Whenever you're ready I will be ready. You don't have to know what you want to do. I just want you to be happy," he says. "That's all I want."

"Joe," I say with a soft smile, "I love you," I say before I wrap my arms around him. It feels good not to have pressure from Joe. Scott has been putting pressure on me for years about being together and I hate it but Joe understands, he gets me and if I had to choose between Scott and Joe which I probably will have to do someday, I would definitely choose Joe because of our history and like Scott said he does have his shit and his life together. Joe wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head. "Let's celebrate Christmas together. Your child is hungry," I say with a smile as I look up at him.

He lets out a chuckle and says, "okay, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," I say before we enjoy a nice Christmas meal together and then spend the evening watching Christmas movies. It is one of the best Christmases I have had in a while and I enjoy spending it with Joe.

 **A/N: So what do you think? What do you think about Audrey? Do you think she should be with Scott or Joe? Who do you like better for her? What did you think about her relationship with Scott's ex-wife do you think she could have been the reason for their divorce? What did you think about Audrey offering to help Scott get more time with his kids and helping him stay out of jail? Do you think Scott will get the help that he needs? What about Audrey and Joe spending Christmas together and opening up about their feelings? How long do you think Joe is willing to wait? And how long do you think Audrey will take to finally want to be in a committed relationship? Are you still interested in this story? Should I keep it going? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much***

After a few days back in New York and the holidays as well as numerous phone calls and facetimes to her family with an apology for missing Christmas with them because she needed to clean up Scott's mess and promises to make it up to them she was getting ready to return back to work. She felt terrible for ditching her family the way she did she didn't know how she felt about Scott and his DUI incident. He needed help but not the help she could give him. Sitting in the bathroom of her penthouse apartment by the toilet as Joe was knocking on the door. "Audrey, are you okay?" he asks. "Is there anything I can get you?" He had returned sometime in the middle of the night after taking a red eye flight out of Chicago so that he could be with Audrey for her first prenatal appointment.

"Just the usual morning sickness," she replies before she throws up again in the toilet. Audrey had only thrown up that much when she drank way too much in her college days and she was nursing a hangover now today she was nursing a child growing in her womb that made her mornings hell. Every scent made her sick and the sight of almost anything made her sick. She never expected pregnancy to be like this. "I'll be right out," she says as she stands up. She walks over to her sink and cleans her face with water. "Actually, I'm going to take a quick shower. I will be out then."

"All right, do you want me to make you some breakfast?" he asks.

"No. I can't even eat right now I will eat a little later," she says. "Thanks though, Joe."

"You're welcome," he says before he walks away from the door before she strips out of her clothes after turning on the water.

Joe turns on the TV while Audrey takes a nice refreshing shower enjoying the water as it hits her to wait for her before she goes to work that morning. He is still confused on what's going on between him and Audrey after Christmas Eve together he thought they were more than just friends; in fact he knew they were more than just friends but she was hesitant to start a relationship or start anything with him. He wasn't even sure what was going on with her and Scott but after their night at the hospital he got the idea that their sleeping arrangements had been going on a little longer than he expected. He admired Scott for his tenacity a few years is a lot of time to spend on one woman that won't date you or move in with you let alone have a child with you or even have a relationship with you but he kept trying and he was still interested in Audrey. He admired that tenacity. He also didn't really care for Scott too much and hated the idea of him ever being around his child. Audrey and Joe had many things that needed to be discussed but he wanted to get through their first appointment first to give her time.

"So what time did you get in this morning," asks Audrey as she comes out of the bedroom after dressing herself in a black business suit with a white blouse underneath her black jacket with her hair smoothed back into a low ponytail and a pair of black heels she knew she was going to regret later in the day. Joe couldn't deny that she looked beautiful. Her body was already starting to respond to the pregnancy with her breasts fuller than they were before making her blouse tighter in the breast area. He tries to keep his attention away from the area.

"I got in about 4:30 this morning," he says. "It wasn't a long flight."

"Doesn't seem like it," she says with a smile. "Did you have a good flight?"

"I slept most of the way but it was pretty good," he says with a smile. "You look nice today."

"Thank-you, is your family still upset that you missed Christmas with them to come back to New York with me?" she asks.

"No, they have gotten over it. I definitely owe them. I would have left the day after Christmas anyway for house shows. It wasn't a big deal," he says.

"I feel bad. I haven't spent Christmas with my family in years and then the one time when I do I have to leave so I can clean up Scott's mess. It shouldn't be my responsibility to clean up his mess. I'm not his wife, I'm not even his girlfriend."

"I thought you two had some type of relationship going on before you left at least that's how it seemed."

"Well, Christmas Eve changed a lot of things," she says looking at him with her dark brown eyes through her thick long eyelashes. Joe secretly hoped and wished their child had her eyes and eyelashes. He gave her nod knowing what she was talking about. "I don't regret it if that's what you think."

"That helps my ego because you surely don't want a relationship with me," he says. "That's kind of a blow. I don't know how Scott can hold so long and be so hopeful for so long."

"Can we not talk about this at least not this morning? I thought you and I agreed that you would give me time to deal with things and decide what I want to do."

"All right," he says putting his hands up as he stands up and rounds the couch standing face to face with his best friend. "I'm sorry," he says as he wraps his arms around her waist she looks up at him and smiles as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"It's okay," she smiles before reaching up and brushing her lips against his, kissing him softly. Joe smiles back at her and kisses her lips softly and passionately in a deep kiss as she grants his tongue access to her mouth.

"But can I still get the benefits?" he asks with a smile as he breaks the kiss, "you know like what you have going on with Scott?" He knew it sounded bad the way he worded so he tries to reword it a different way. "Sorry that was crude of me what I meant to say was…" he smiles against Audrey's lips as she kisses him again. "Never mind," he smiles as they break the kiss.

"Yeah," she answers anyway. "Whatever was happening with Scott and me is pretty much on a standstill. He needs to get himself help and besides as his lawyer I can't be intimate with him. There's a moral code against that type of thing. Besides," she says as she rubs his chest through his shirt with her small hand, "you and me are having a baby together. I'm not sure I like the idea of sleeping with Scott or having sex with Scott while I'm pregnant with your child. It's weird to me," she says.

"I'll take that," he says with a smile. "By the way, pregnancy is looking good on you."

"Thanks," she says with a smile. "I guess I better get to work since it is my first day back. I don't want to be late or anything. Plus I have to leave early because of our appointment. Did you want to meet me at my office? Or do you want to meet me at the doctor?" she asks.

"I can meet you at the office if that's okay. I don't want to run into Scott or anything but I'd rather arrive at the doctor's office together than to meet each other there."

"All right meet me at 1:15?" she asks.

"Sounds good," he smiles before he kisses her lips softly. "Have a good day at work."

"Thank-you," she says with a smile. "See you later," she says before they move away from one another. Audrey grabs her coat, purse and keys before she walks out of the apartment.

Audrey arrives to work just in time after fighting through the usual morning traffic in the city. She was just sitting down at her desk when her boss; the man that owned the company knocks on her door. "Good morning, Audrey, welcome back," says Mr. Peterson.

"Good morning, Mr. Peterson," she says with a smile.

"How was your trip to Florida to see your family?"

"It was fine until I had to come back to New York City for Scott's nonsense," she answers.

"So you are aware of Scott's misbehavior over the holiday weekend?" he asks.

"Fully aware," she says, "and he was discharged from the hospital a couple days ago as far as I know. I haven't really talked to him since I saw him in the hospital."

"So what has been going on with you two?" he asks.

"Nothing," she lies. "He's just a friend."

"Okay," he says, "but I'm probably going to need your help."

"My help with?" she asks.

"To take over some of his cases in the next few weeks you see with his pending charges he is on temporary leave and will not be able to return to work until those charges are clear."

"Mr. Peterson, you and I both know that Scott is not coming back as far as I know anyway but if you need me to take over his cases I can do so. I know a little bit about some of them," she says, "so it wouldn't be a lot. It's just his are a lot more high end cases than mine and he is far more powerful than me."

"I have faith in you, Audrey. I think you're quite as powerful as Scott and who knows maybe you could take his place if he doesn't come back you know make partner. How does Peterson and Romano Law firm sound to you?" he asks with a smile.

"I could make partner?" she asks knowing that making partner in a law firm was one of the greatest honors and it took a lot of hard work to make partner at a law firm. She had already been a Non-Equity partner for a couple years now but to become an Equity Partner in the law firm meant a lot she would have ownership in the firm. Scott was Peterson's partner but he threw it all away when he got behind the wheel of that car drunk. She was torn.

"It's a possibility," he smiles. "You do an amazing job, you put in the hours and you always put your job ahead of anything else that comes up. I see your dedication, Audrey. I would say there's a possibility in you making Partner," he smiles.

"That's amazing," she smiles as she thinks about when the best time to tell him that she's pregnant, will be taking 12 weeks of maternity leave and possibly cut back on her time in the office and the courtroom, she hadn't decided yet but it was a decision she would soon face.

"Well, I will let you get to work. I know you're leaving for a doctor's appointment today but you may want to reach out to some of Scott's clients and fill them in let them know you'll be taking over their cases."

"I will," she says with a smile. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome," he says, "the files are on his desk."

"I'll get them but Mr. Peterson, if I need custody papers drawn up would you be able to help me?"

"Custody papers?" he asks. "Why would you need custody papers?"

"I'm just asking for a friend," she says not ready to announce being pregnant just yet. She was only a few weeks along there was still a few weeks to go before she would have to tell anyone.

"Of course," he says with a smile before he walks out of her office. She walks out of her office and makes her way to Scott's office.

She felt bad for Scott in a way but she also knew he needed to be accountable for his actions. His files for his cases were laying on his desk like Mr. Peterson had told her. There were quite a few she knew she would be putting in extra time with Scott's cases as well as her own. As she was picking up the files and the flash drives she stops as she sees the pictures on his desk. He has pictures of his kids on his desk but one that surprises her is a picture of them together from a year or two ago when they took a weekend trip to the Hamptons together. They were sitting on the beach together and he had snapped the picture of them. She had no idea he still had it and another picture was of her drinking a glass of wine from the same weekend at the Hamptons. He obviously had more feelings for her than she realized which was making everything that much harder. She picks up the files and leaves his office to return to hers.

Audrey spends most of her day calling Scott's clients, telling them that Scott was on leave for a while and setting up meetings with them. A couple of them were concerned with a new attorney taking over their cases and she gave them the option to find another attorney or promised them she would do just as great of a job as Scott has done. She lost two of the 10 clients which wasn't bad for her stepping up in his place. She took a break to get some lunch her assistant had delivered to her from a deli a few blocks down the road along with a water and sweet tea. Finishing up lunch she saw Scott walking by with a box before stopping by her office. "What are you doing here?" she asks as he came into her office without being invited. He lays his box down on the couch and makes his way over to the desk.

"Peterson called me to come get my things. I think my time here is done," he says. "I mean I get it but I have been here for years," he says taking a seat. "I'm sorry, Audrey. I'm really sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to me?" she asks. "You haven't done anything to me."

"I fucked up," he says. "I fucked everything up."

"Yeah, Scott you did, I was pretty close to getting involved with you besides just in a sexual way. I was so close to having a relationship with you but I can't now, not after Christmas Eve. What you did was stupid. You could have killed someone which you almost did but thankfully you didn't and everyone is going to recover. You could have a vehicular homicide charge against you too," she says. "And you could have killed yourself, left your kids without your father. I get you were upset that you couldn't see your kids on Christmas Eve. I get it I would be pissed too. Elena has been fucking with you for years but you haven't done anything to stop it," she says. "What you did was stupid. I'm glad you're okay and I'm glad the family you ran into is okay but it could have ended so much worse for everyone. You are probably going to lose your job over this, Scott. I know how hard you worked to make partner here was that night worth losing everything for?"

"It was a stupid mistake and I am going to get help, Audrey. I promise I am going to get help."

"I hope that you do, Scott because you need help. Help that I am unable to give you. I do have to tell you something though."

"I'm listening," he says.

"I slept with Joe," she says not sure why she felt obligated to tell him that as they weren't in a relationship. "On Christmas Eve."

"I'm not surprised, Audrey. He can give you things that I can't I am too screwed up for you. You deserve someone better than me. I see the way you look at each other but for what it's worth I love you. I have loved you for a while now but I want you to be happy and with my drinking and ex-wife bullshit I can't make you happy," he says as tears form in her eyes. "If Joe is what makes you happy then be happy. I wish I could be the one to make you happy but if you truly loved me you wouldn't have sought the help of Joe to help you get pregnant you would have asked me or allowed it to happen between us. I get it, Audrey and I'm really sorry," he says as there are tears forming in his eyes.

"Scott," she says.

"No, Audrey, just be happy," he says and she can hear the hurt and pain in his voice. It breaks her heart for not having feelings for him she was feeling pretty heartbroken about him telling her to be happy with Joe. "And I know this may be asking too much but can you help me? Can you take my case, help me get out of jail time and then when I fix myself can you help me get my kids back?" he asks. "Help me get a better custody agreement?"

"I can," she says. "I can," she says before Joe appears at her door. She stands up. "Joe."

"Audrey," he says his dark eyes meeting hers. "Are you ready to go to the doctor?"

"Yeah," she says. "Scott, we'll talk okay?"

"Okay," he says as he stands up. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome," she says.

"Joe," he nods.

"Scott, I'm glad to see you're doing well. Hope that you get the help that you need," he says.

"I am," he says. "I am." He picks up his box and walks out of the room as Joe walks into the room and over to Audrey.

"Did he upset you?"

"No, he asked me to be his attorney and I am going to do it. I might be crazy but I am going to do it," she smiles.

"Good for you. I think he needs someone like you to take his case," he says.

"Thanks, so are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," she says grabbing her things before walking out of her office with him.

Audrey and Joe arrive at the fertility clinic where she was artificially inseminated for their first visit. She would find an OB/GYN once the pregnancy was confirmed by them for now she was using the fertility clinic. Audrey signs in and then takes a seat next to Joe. "It's been a long day."

"I can imagine," he says.

"I got offered partner if Scott doesn't come back and I have taken on all of his cases."

"How can you be partner with a baby, Audrey? Are we going to have a nanny for our child? If so then what was the point of putting in 2 grand to do this?" he asks.

"I haven't said yes or no and besides maybe Scott will come back. I don't know. I never thought I would be a mother to be honest but making partner has been a dream of mine. I don't know I have a lot to think about."

"Yes you do," he says with a snippy tone.

"Why do you have an attitude?" she asks.

"I don't mean to have an attitude but after everything I can't help but not to have one. If you are in a sexual relationship with Scott why didn't you ask him to get you pregnant, why did you go through this?" he asks, "and with me?"

"Joe, in all fairness I was just going to do an anonymous donor but you and I agreed to do this as friends I never thought I would develop feelings for you and that makes everything all the more complicated," she says. "I didn't plan for it to all happen like this and I am SO sorry."

"I never expected to get feelings for you either," he says, "it wasn't supposed to be this complicated."

"I know," she says before they call her back.

Joe and Audrey made their way to the back with the nurse. The nurse had Audrey pee in a cup so they could do their own pregnancy test along with a blood test to check her levels. "How are you doing today?" asks the nurse.

"We're okay," says Audrey. "Just ready to get this confirmed, I know they said it could be like 2 or 3 attempts but for it to happen at the first attempt I'm a little shocked. I just want to make sure it isn't a false positive."

"I understand," says the nurse, "but you should find out soon. The doctor will be right in we need you to change into this gown first."

"Thank-you," says Audrey with a smile. Once the nurse leaves the room she changes into the gown and waits for the doctor to arrive. Anxiousness and excitement runs through her body before the doctor comes in.

"Good afternoon Audrey and Joe," he says.

"Good afternoon," they say together.

"So," he begins, "usually it is unlikely for a pregnancy to happen on the first try of insemination process however we tested your urine and it came back positive. As far as we know you are pregnant but we want to do a blood test to determine your levels and we're going to do an ultrasound today to see how everything is going but congratulations. You two are having a baby," he says and Audrey smiles.

"Joe, we're having a baby!" she says as he stands up to hug her. "You're going to be a daddy."

"And you're going to be a Mommy," he says with a smile. "Congratulations."

"Congratulations to you too, Daddy," she smiles as she looks at the pride in his eyes and the pride covering his face. She sees the joy in his smile. She imagines she has the same pride and joy on her face. They share a hug with one another as the doctor watches on with a smile. Audrey and Joe are the only ones that don't see their connection, the love they show to one another that everyone else sees. It seemed as if they were a married couple celebrating and enjoying the news of a pregnancy instead of two best friends that used artificial insemination.

The doctor performs a blood test on Audrey before leaving the room. He comes back in a few minutes later with a chart. "Is everything okay?" asks Audrey.

"Your levels are just a little high," he says. "A little higher than usual."

"Is that a bad thing?" asks Joe.

"It does call for some concern because it could mean that there is more than one baby in the uterus."

"Um, excuse me?" asks Audrey. "How many are we talking here?"

"I don't know that's why we are going to do an ultrasound and go from there," he says.

"All right," she says nervously she signed up for one baby not more than that. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Joe moves over to stand next to her as the doctor prepares her for an internal ultrasound.

"All right," says the doctor as he begins the ultrasound and Joe takes Audrey's hand into his intertwining their fingers. Audrey cringes as the wand is inserted inside of her. He moves it around a little as Joe and Audrey look at the screen. "Well, I haven't seen this happen very often just in the cases of fertility treatments but this is something I haven't seen before not like this," he says.

"Is that what I think it is?" asks Audrey as she looks at the screen.

"Twins?" asks Joe.

"Well, you are indeed pregnant, pregnant with what looks like identical twins," says the doctor. "Surprise!" he says. "I have seen two eggs fertilized or more fertilized but that's obviously not what happened here. Do twins run in your family, Audrey?"

"Twins?" she asks. "We're having twins?" she asks again in shock this was a lot more than she bargained for. "Joe, we're having twins!" she says. He couldn't tell if she was happy or upset. Joe was just as shocked as she was. "TWO babies we're having two babies!" she says, "that explains a lot all that morning sickness no wonder it's so bad. And yes twins run in my family. My mom is a twin," she says. "Surprise, Joe we're getting TWO babies." She never even realized it was a possibility and then she broke down crying at the news.

 ***AN: What is Audrey doing with her life? She can't figure out if she wants to be with Scott or Joe, who would you choose? What about the possibility of her making partner with the firm? What do you think of Scott telling her to be happy? Do you think she should continue helping him? What about the pictures he had on his desk? What do you think about their surprise at their doctor's appointment? What do you think of them having twins? It obviously didn't go the way they expected. Please, please review and thank-you for reading.**


	9. Chapter 9

***Thank-you for all the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much* This is so far my favorite chapter as I proofread it I got a little teary eyed. Enjoy!**

Audrey is bawling as I hold her hand intimately, our fingers laced together as I take my free hand up and down her soft arm. I kiss her hand intimately. "Twins," she says.

"Wow," I say before kissing her hand once again.

"Very healthy twins," says the doctor as he shows us the screen. I can't take my eyes away from the screen as I see our babies. Tears burn my own eyes as the realization hits me we're having twins. Not just one baby but two babies. "They have strong heartbeats and I would say you're about 6 weeks along and I would say you're due August 30th but since you're having twins I would say you will probably only make it to the 38th week mark which would be August 16th," he says, "but you are due August 30th."

"Okay," says Audrey and I can't tell if she's happy or sad. I can't tell if she's pissed or excited I just know she's shocked to find out that we are having babies. "When can we know if they are girls or boys or even a boy and a girl?" she asks.

"Well, they are going to be identical that's why I asked if twins ran in your family. They are in the same amniotic sac which means that the egg was fertilized during conception it split into two which means they have the same genetic information which means they will be the same sex. That usually only happens if there are twins in the family previously. If they were in different sacs they would be fraternal twins meaning that two eggs were fertilized at the time of conception. Do you understand what I am saying if they were fraternal they would either be the same sex or a different sex with a different genetic make up."

"I see," she says as I kiss her hand again, "so when can we find out if they are girls or boys?" she asks.

"First I would suggest that you find an OB/GYN to go to that is the most important thing my work here is done but of course after you have the babies we would love for you to come back to visit us and share pictures of your little blessings," he smiles, "clients come back all the time to share their babies with us because a lot of couples deal with infertility and that's their way of thanking us for our work but even babies in your case we like to see how everything turns out," he says and I remember seeing pictures in the waiting room of babies that I assume were conceived with his help. "As for finding out the sex," he says, "you can wait until you are about 17-20 weeks for your anatomy scan to see the gender or at 10 weeks you can have your noninvasive prenatal testing which tests for down syndrome and other chromosomal conditions but you can also find out the sex from this blood test so I would say in about 4 weeks you could find out the sex of the twins," he says.

"All right," she says as if she's processing the information given to her. "So our next step is to find an OB/GYN? Do you have any suggestions for us? We're new at this and have no idea where to go could I use my regular gynecologist?"

"As long as there is a practicing obstetrician," he says, "but my suggestion to you would be to use my brother's office; Fredrick and Anderson Obstetrics and ask for Dr. Anderson tell the receptionist that I referred you and you will be able to get in right away. It's one of the best in New York and there is a 6 month waiting list for new patients but if you tell them I referred you, you'll have your first appointment with Dr. Anderson in 2 weeks."

"All right," she says with a smile, "we'll do that. Thank-you."

"You're welcome," he smiles. "Congratulations," he says and we both thank him. He prints us off pictures of our babies so we can have them for the baby book Audrey wants to put together and gives us the number to his brother's Obstetrician's office.

After our appointment Audrey goes back to work and I go back to the apartment to wait for her to come home from work. She doesn't get home until about 6:30 in the evening and I have already ordered us Chinese food for dinner as she walks in the door. "Hey," I smile before greeting her with a soft kiss on the lips.

"Hey," she smiles back at me before she takes her things off at the door hanging her jacket up and taking her heels off in the foyer of her beautiful penthouse apartment. "My feet are killing me," she says, "I don't know why I insisted on wearing heels. It was a bad idea."

"I'll take care of that later," I say with a smile, "but I ordered us Chinese food for dinner it should be here soon is that okay or are the babies making you sick?"

"They usually only make me sick in the morning and late at night I'm fine right now. I can eat some Chinese food. I'm going to change into something more comfortable. I'll be right back," she says before kissing my lips softly before she walks to her bedroom she really does know how to give mixed signals to a man. One minute she wants something, the next she doesn't but she's willing to enjoy time in my bed but won't commit to a relationship with me. It's complicated.

While she's changing her clothes the buzzer goes off and the man in the lobby tells us that our food is here. I have him send up the delivery man. A few minutes later there is a knock on the door and I open it taking our cartons of food before paying him and tipping him. He thanks me before I shut the door. I take the food to the living room and sit it down on the coffee table separating our food and then get us drinks from the kitchen. Forgetting Audrey is pregnant I almost grab her a beer before I grab her a bottle of water and myself a beer. I take it to the living room just as she's coming out of the bedroom dressed in a pair of black leggings and black cami as her breasts are toppling out of the shirt. "I think it's time for new bras and shirts," she says with a smile.

"I would say so," I say with a smile before sit down. I hand her water to her and she thanks me as we start to eat our food. "So twins I was not expecting that. That's a really big surprise."

"Tell me about it," she says as she eats her egg roll. "I mean I guess it's kind of cool. I was a little shocked and I'm a lot scared but I think it's pretty cool. I will never make partner now. It takes too much time so I will just give that up right now. I don't want a nanny to raise our babies. You made a good point," she says, "we paid a lot of money for this procedure why waste it by having someone else raise our kids. I'm probably going to work part-time because I don't want to give up my job completely but definitely want to do some work from home and work part-time."

"I just want to be around as much as I can be around," I say before eating some of my rice. "With my job it keeps me on the road a lot more than I would like I don't want to miss a lot of things," I say. "I have to think about what I want to do."

"It's up to you," she says. "I just know I want to go down to part time because sometimes I can be at the office till late at night. I don't want that."

"I get it," I say with a soft smile. "What do you think our parents are going to say?"

"Probably be as shocked as we were," she says with a smile, "but we'll be all right. I think we will be great parents."

"Me too," I say with a smile. "So you want to find out the sex?" I ask.

"Only if you do," she says, "if we know the sex it makes it easier for us to prepare for the babies you're talking to a lawyer here. I spend a lot of time preparing things before it's show time in the courtroom. Of course I want to know the sex to be prepared for them to get here and paint a beautiful nursery for them, get them cute little outfits," she says with a little sparkle of excitement in her eyes. She makes me smile as she talks about the babies. "Do you want to know the sex of the babies?"

"I mean I would like to be surprised but I understand what you're saying it doesn't matter to me any way we do it as long as they are both healthy when they are born. Are you going to do that blood test to determine gender or to the anatomy scan?"

"I'm going to do the blood test the sooner I find out the better that way we can start planning you know what I mean, picking out names, nursery themes you know?"

"I know," I say with a smile. "I want boys," I say.

"Me too!" she says with a smile. "I'm sure my mom and papa will want girls because I am the only girl they have and they probably want a little more females in the family line but I do not want little girls that could be just like me you know promiscuously having sex no strings attached girls are drama that I don't want to deal with."

"I mean I would be okay with two daddy's girls but damn it, Audrey they would be just like you and I would have a heart attack," I laugh. "And you know it."

"Yeah, arguing with two versions of myself that would probably have the same debating and logical skills as I do doesn't seem like much fun," she smiles. "I wonder how many times I have nearly given my dad a heart attack."

"I would say a lot," I smile and she smiles back at me.

"So I called Dr. Anderson today and they got me in for two weeks from now for my 8 week appointment and technically my first prenatal appointment. When I first called telling them I was a new patient they had an attitude telling me Dr. Anderson wasn't seeing new patients until August. I told them that was a little late as I am due in August but when I told them our fertility doctor referred us she said they can get me in two weeks from now but I had to get a Monday appointment so you'll probably miss it."

"No I will be there. I will just fly out right after the appointment what time is it please tell me early in the morning," I say hopeful I can make it to the appointment.

"Not exactly it's at 10 in the morning can you make it?"

"I'm going to try," I promise her as we continue to eat our dinner. "So what was Scott doing in your office today when I got there?"

"Wow, you just cut to the point don't you?" she smiles. "Actually he was being your advocate," she says shocking me because I don't understand what she means. I wait for her to continue. "He apologized for fucking up and said he was going to get help. He asked me to help him out and be his lawyer. I told him that you and I slept together on Christmas Eve. He said he wasn't shocked and he wasn't surprised. That's when he became your advocate. He told me that I belong with you. He said that you make me happy and he wants me to be with you because I deserve to be happy. I didn't know what to say," she says honestly as we finish up our food. We place it down on the coffee table before she puts her legs on my lap. I massage her feet as we talk. "I don't know what to say."

"Well, do you believe what he's saying to you?" I ask. "Do you think he's sorry?"

"He seemed sincere and he doesn't really apologize for much he's an arrogant son of a bitch. I have been sleeping with him for years he can be sweet to me and amazing with me but as soon as Elena is mentioned he gets mean. He hates her and he knows he's better than everyone around him. He's very arrogant he never really takes responsibility for anything and the fact he is saying he's sorry does mean a lot. I think that accident scared him."

"I see how long have you two been sleeping together exactly?"

"Probably 5 or 6 years now," she says as I continue to massage her feet.

"And you never had a relationship?"

"Never I mean we were monogamously sleeping together if you want the honest truth pretty much we weren't sleeping with anyone else. I was his and he was mine until…"

"Christmas Eve," I say. "Do you have feelings for him, Audrey? Just be honest with me."

"I don't know, Joe," she says, "I care about him, REALLY care about him. I don't think I could ever be in love with him. I could never marry or never have kids with him. I could have easily asked him to get me pregnant, stopped my birth control it was 5 years, Joe but I didn't and still don't see him as the father of my kids nor do I see him as my husband. I could never love him if that makes sense. I care about him but I don't think I could ever love him. As for feelings and if I have them for him he's a good friend and that's all he's ever going to be."

"I see," I nod as I move my hand up her leg massaging her calve muscle softly. "What about me?" I ask taking a chance. "What about me? Am I just always going to be your best friend?"

"Um you're my baby daddy," she says jokingly.

"You know what I mean, Audrey. Let me explain. In high school you were the coolest girl, the best girl ever while everyone was drooling over my football status and my football skills you were looking at me differently. We've been friends forever and we've been close since I can remember you have always been my best friend. I've never looked at you as anything more. You were someone I could hang out with, talk football with you're probably one of the most knowledgeable girls I know when it comes to football. You know all my secrets and I know yours. I have confided in you for years and all those years everyone said they thought we were together but we never were we were just best friends. I never thought I could look at you as more than a friend but lately I find myself looking at you as so much more. I think you deserve better than Scott. I'm not saying I'm better than Scott but you deserve someone better. I think a part of me wanted to be your sperm donor because I love you," I say shocking not only myself but her as well. Her dark eyes blinking at me, "and when I say I love you I don't mean in a best friend way, Audrey. I love you in the I want to date you, want to be your boyfriend, want to have more kids with you, marry you someday kind of love. The last couple months I have been trying to fight against it, tried to stop myself but I can't. I can't lose my feelings for you. Christmas Eve changed everything and I love you more. When I found out we were pregnant I loved you even more. I'm not saying I love you because you're the mother of my children. I'm telling you I love you because you're everything I want. You're everything I need even if you weren't pregnant I would still love you. I think you're beautiful, you're smart and you scare the hell out of me because you're so aggressive. I want you because of who you are and there is NO one in this world that knows you better than I do and there is no one that knows me better than you. I love your sexy banter with me, I love your sense of humor, I love your long tan legs, your soft Pensacola accent, your beautiful dark eyes, your beautiful lips, I love _you. ALL_ of you," I say, "and I understand if you need time to process this and time to decide what you want but I know that I want you! You're more than my best friend, I promise you, Audrey if you choose me, you feel this way about me tell me, let me know and I promise I will treat you like you deserve and love you the way you deserve to be loved. We're having a family together, Audrey. You and me," I say placing my hand on her stomach. "It may not be the traditional way but I want to raise our family the traditional way with you and me together not with some bullshit custody agreement while you're sleeping with someone that's not me. I want you, I love you, Audrey," I say as she places her hand over mine on her stomach. I don't know what she's thinking but telling her how I feel is like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. She looks at me with her dark brown eyes, long eyelashes and I see the tears in her eyes. She lets out a deep breath as my heart races.

"I think," she begins. "I think that our parents are going to be happy," and I am confused not sure if she's talking about the babies or what she's talking about. "I knew it for a while," she says. "I knew I had feelings for you a while. I don't know when I stopped seeing you as just my best friend but someone I wanted more with. I tried to fight it for a while too. I didn't want to screw up our friendship because like you said you know me best. I confide in you more than anyone and I didn't want a romance to fuck that up, Joe. I didn't want to lose my best friend if we didn't work out. I can't stand the thought of losing you if we don't work out," she says taking it to the present tense and it is not lost on me. "If we do this we have to make it work, Joe. I love you," she says with tears in her eyes. "I love you so much you have no idea how much I have wanted to tell you that. Not anyone would just step up and offer their sperm to create life or pack up their life in Tampa to come live with their best friend. I love you, Joe. Not because you're my babies' daddy but because of who you are because you make me laugh, you're always the first person I call when I need to talk or tell someone something it has always been you, Joe and I felt it a couple months ago, Christmas eve I felt it and when I found out we were having babies I felt it. I want you so much, Joe and not just in the physical sense I want that you're my boyfriend love, you're going to be my husband someday love. I want to love you but I have no idea how a relationship works, what it entails. I don't know what commitment is. I have never done this before but I want to try, I want to try it with you," she says. "I choose you, Joe. I choose you," she says with a soft smile but tears streaming from her eyes. I pull her into my lap, she straddles me as I embrace her tight as I feel her wrap her arms around me and feel her crying onto my shoulder. I hold her as I imagine it's not every day she tells someone her feelings, offers herself to a committed relationship it is an emotional movement for her, an emotional step in the right direction and an emotional stepping stone into life she's laying it all out for me, giving me her heart, trusting me with it, trusting me not to break it. She buries her head between my neck and shoulder and mumbles, "Joe, please don't hurt me."

"Never," I say as I hold her, kissing her dark hair. She looks at me with her dark brown eyes through her long eyelashes, the passion burning between us the magnetic pull pulling us toward each other. I take her lips kissing her softly at first then becoming more urgent, more needy as I make out with her on her living room couch. Her hands free the bun in my hair as I undo the bun in hers freeing her long hair, combing through it as I kiss her deep and hard. I pick her up and carry her to her bedroom never breaking the kiss as she wraps her long legs around me, one arm holding her up as her arms are draped around my neck. I carry her over to her bed laying her down softly before the passion rips through us breaking the kiss. She slides her cami over her head as I discard my own grey t-shirt from my body. Her breasts full and plump swollen from the pregnancy freed. I kiss around her breasts softly, gently as I take one in one hand massaging it softly before taking my tongue over her erect nipple. My mouth engulfs her nipple, I suck on it softly as she throws her head back with a moan. I suck and suck on it before I move to the next breast doing the same thing as she moans out in pleasure, my kisses trailing down her body as she lays back on her bed. The room heating up around us, my kisses reaching the waist band of her black leggings I stop and slide them down softly exposing she has no underwear on. I pull them off and toss them to the floor. I kiss her inner thigh softly, kissing her till I reach her sex, kissing it softly. I spread her legs wider as I take my tongue over her sex, licking it softly, dipping my tongue into her sex as I rub her clit softly. A gasp escapes as I engulf her sex with my mouth, sucking on it hard, and fast making love to her with my long tongue, her hands in my hair tugging on it softly as I pleasure her. Moans and cries of pleasure from her lips fill the room.

"Joe," she cries out as I keep going lost in the passion and ecstasy. She arches her back up to me giving me more access my erection straining in my jeans. She cries out in pleasure as her legs quake and she comes apart, crying through an orgasm as I suck hard as I taste her hot juices. "I need you inside of me," she begs. "Please." I remove my mouth from her sex, stand up and quickly remove my jeans, my briefs freeing my thick and aching hard erection. I slowly crawl my way over her, covering her body with mine, my cock at the opening of her sex. I sink into her as I take her lips us moaning together. I make love to her like I never have made love to anyone before, taking my time, making it slow and soft, gentle making it last. She moves with my rhythm, her hands in my hair on my shoulders, down my spine on my ass. The passion between us growing stronger and ripping through us both as we come apart together, nails in my back, my lips kissing her deep as I pour myself into her as she spasms around me. It was the most amazing, passionate sex I have ever had.

"I love you," I say softly before kissing her lips softly.

"I love you too," she smiles. I remove myself from her, laying down next to her and pulling her closer to me, holding her in my arms in the silence of her bedroom, the lights from the street shining into her bedroom window. I don't want to let her go, she buries her head into my chest after giving it a soft kiss. "Your fan girls are going to hate me," she says softly. I let out a soft chuckle because it's true and hold her tighter.

"But our parents will be happy how long have they wanted us to be together?"

"Forever," she says softly. I stroke the length of her spine as I feel her hand rubbing my chest softly taking in the intimacy of the moment. My promise to her will remain true I will treat her the way she deserves, give her the best of everything and just love on her the way she deserves. I close my eyes holding her, feeling her against me before I slowly fall asleep as she does the same after everything in our life that we ever knew changes.

 ***A/N: So what did you think? Are you shocked or surprised Joe stepped up and told Audrey how he felt? What about her telling him how she felt? Do you think it was hard for her to express her feelings? What do you think of her saying she would never love Scott? What do you think of Audrey and Joe finally being together? Can they make it work? What do you want the babies to be girls or boys? Thank-you for reading and please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you so much***

 **TWO WEEKS LATER:**

 **ROMAN's POINT OF VIEW:**

I make my way around backstage on my way to talk with talent relations and Stephanie McMahon to discuss being removed from any Summerslam plans and to be off the road for a month or two for when the babies are born. I know it's only the middle of January and they are focused on Wrestlemania but it won't be long until they start planning Summerslam. Everything with Audrey and I has been going pretty well. I only see her a couple times a week not enough time but I at least get to see her. Our relationship is something different as she has never been in a relationship before so I am trying to do couple things with her like taking her out on dates when I get the chance but as far as telling our parents or posting about it on social media Audrey and I have kept it to ourselves for now. We want to tell our parents face to face not over the phone or on facetime. I am also trying to allow Audrey her privacy before the hounds of the WWE Universe discover her and she starts to be harassed by nearly every WWE fan out there.

I arrive outside the door where the talent relation people and Stephanie McMahon are during RAW and before RAW to make sure everything is going smoothly. I knock on the door and wait to be told to enter. I open the door after the command is barked out by Road Dogg. "Joe," says Stephanie with surprise. "What can we do for you?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about something," I say. "Do you have time?" I ask.

"Please have a seat," she says. I make my way over to the couch and take a seat on it. "What can we do for you?" she asks.

"Well, I know right now you're really busy with planning Mania and everything that goes along with that but I wanted to talk to you about Summerslam."

"Joe, we planned Mania out months ago. Yes right now we are on the road or nearly on the road to Mania but we have had everything planned out for months now. It is our main focus right now while Summerslam is 7 months away we are starting to make plans for Summerslam so what's up with Summerslam?" she asks.

"You may not like this idea because I know Summerslam is the biggest party of the summer and I am one of the top guys but I need to be written off before Summerslam. I can't be at Summerslam this year," I say.

"And why is that?" she asks.

"Because my girlfriend and I are having twins in August," I say. "They are saying she's due August 30th but said she would only make it to the 38th week mark which is August 16th. That's about 3 days before Summerslam so I don't think I can participate in Summerslam this summer and I would also like a month or two off when the babies are born," I say trying not to sound too demanding.

"Wait," says Stephanie, "I'm confused. When did you get a girlfriend?" As if it really matters when I got a girlfriend she looks agitated already.

"It's something new but in December we did a procedure so she could get pregnant and we found out a couple days before Christmas that she was pregnant and a couple weeks ago we found out it was twins," I say.

"Interesting," she says, "here's my issue with John Cena stepping down and taking so much time off focusing on other things and with Dean Ambrose out with an injury estimated to return in 9 months we don't really have a lot of top guys on RAW. We are counting on you to be that guy, Joe. I understand you want to be there for the birth of your twins. I understand that but I need you at Summerslam. I can grant your month or two off after Summerslam but I need you at Summerslam is there a way that you can have the babies and then come to Summerslam?"

"I don't know what road we are going. I don't know if she will need to schedule a C-Section or if she is going to have them naturally which means I can't guarantee my presence at Summerslam. That's my issue."

"I'll tell you what you find out what's going on and closer to Summerslam we will have this discussion about whether you can be there or not. I hope that you can be there," she says, "but I also understand if you can't but let's wait a few months before we make any rash decisions," she says. "Let's just focus on what's going to happen at Wrestlemania when you will be facing Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship."

"All right," I say, "I do have a request about Hall of Fame Ceremony."

"What's your request?" she asks.

"I am bringing my girlfriend with me she will be with me on the red carpet and I am going to need that extra seat for the ceremony."

"We can work that out," she says with a smile.

"Thank-you," I say, "and you did say after Summerslam I could get a month or two off?"

"Yes," she says, "and hopefully we can expect you at Summerslam," she says it like I can tell my children when to come into the world. I don't really see Audrey as the type to get a C-section or have to get one so I am expecting this to go to whenever the babies decide to come unless the doctor decides differently. It could work if they come the 16th, I fly out the 17th and get back home the 20th but I can't make any promises they are going to come when they want.

"Thank-you," I say with a smile before I shake her hand before I stand up. She walks me over to the door and I open it to step out into the backstage area to prepare for RAW.

 **AUDREY's POINT OF VIEW:**

I arrive to work a couple hours late due to my first prenatal appointment that went very well. I am still due August 30th and like his brother Dr. Singh is predicting I will go a couple weeks before my due date anywhere between August 16th- August 20th. I make my way to my office and take a seat at my desk waiting for Scott to come in for a meeting over his case against the state of New York for his DWI as well as the family he collided with they are coming after him for the damage he caused their family. Honestly I can't blame them I would probably press charges too and sue him for the damage he caused my family. I just open my breakfast sandwich from my favorite deli so I have some type of food in my system. I gag as I take the egg off the sandwich. Eggs, bacon, tomato sauce, pizza are all food aversions for the first trimester of my pregnancy. I can't stomach it. I put my sausage and cheese biscuit back together as Mr. Peterson appears at my door. "Audrey, I'm glad to see that you could finally make it to work," he says with a condescending tone.

"I'm sorry, I had an appointment this morning. I promise my next appointment isn't for two weeks from now and I will have to leave early."

"You're leaving early a lot lately, taking more time off than usual what's going on, Romano?" he asks. "This isn't like you."

"I know it's not like me, Mr. Peterson," I say.

"You're usually so dedicated to your job, such a hard worker and now you're taking two weeks off for Christmas vacation, taking days off and either coming in later or leaving early. If you want to make partner you need to show me a better effort than that and you just took on most of Scott's cases. You are going to have a busy schedule coming up in the next few weeks," he says, "you're not showing me; excuse my language, the grab them by the balls attitude you always had. I was weary of you when you first started here but now I am not sure you're that same girl."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Peterson, while I would love to make partner at this time I don't know if it's really for me," I say. "And yes I took time off to see my family and I have been having a few doctor appointments the last couple months and I will have many more until August," I say honestly. "I still have the grab them by the balls attitude. I assure you that if I miss time I am making it up at home and today I plan to stay here later to get some work done. I'm up to date on everything and I have talked to all my new clients. I have met with them and I have a meeting with Scott today. I am the attorney on his DWI case," I say, "so please just be patient with me," I say not ready to tell him I am pregnant yet. I know I probably should but being a woman in this position is almost uncommon. I don't want to ruin it by announcing I am pregnant but I won't be able to hide it much longer.

"At least you're making progress," he says. "Scott is obviously going to be charged with the crime there is no way he wouldn't be so that means his position here is open. I'm going to be watching you, Audrey and see if you're truly ready to step up in his place, ready to be my partner in this law firm," he says. "That means less time off, less half days, do you understand?" he asks.

"I'm pregnant," I blurt out. "8 weeks, I'm not due until August but I am pregnant," I say with relief.

"What?" he asks. "You're pregnant? Is that why you're always running to the bathroom, throwing up in the office and taking time off?" he asks.

"That would be the reason," I say, "but I promise I am going to keep up and do my best to stay up to date of course I have to take some half days for doctor appointments but it shouldn't be excessive until July. And that's why I needed to take time off over Christmas so that my boyfriend and I could tell our parents the news."

"I thought all this time Scott was your boyfriend," he says, "I mean I suspected it you two were all so close."

"No," I say. "It was just sex," I say, "and no he is not the father of my babies."

"Babies?" he raises an eyebrow.

"Twins," I smile.

"Congratulations, Audrey," he says with a smile.

"Thank-you," I smile as my phone buzzes. "Yes?" I say hitting the button.

"Scott is here for his appointment with you," says Hayley the receptionist.

"Send him up," I say with a smile. Mr. Peterson nods, waves and walks away as I let out a breath before taking a bite of my sandwich so I can actually get something inside of me for the babies.

Scott appears at my door dressed so casually in a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a leather jacket. His hair a bit of a mess as his blue eyes meet mine. "Hello, Scott," I say with a smile. "Come in," I say.

He struts into my office after shutting the door behind him. He walks past my desk as I am standing. He comes to me and leans in to kiss me but I stop him. "Scott, have a seat," I say, "we have plenty to discuss today."

"No love for me?" he asks with a smile. "I miss you, Audrey."

"Have a seat," I repeat myself pointing to the chair to across from my desk.

"All right, so formal," he says as he takes a seat. "You're looking good, your body is really responding well to the pregnancy," he compliments me. "I miss you in my bed."

"Yes, Scott this is formal. I am your attorney in a DWI case. You're in serious trouble, Scott and let's be professional. You can keep missing me in your bed because I will never be there again."

"Until this case is over," he says, "right?"

"No Scott, I'm not going to be in your bed anymore even when this case is over. I have a boyfriend and I am only going to be in his bed or more rather he be in my bed," I explain.

"Joe," he says, "right?"

"Yes, Joe and I are together now."

"How did that happen, Audrey, what about us?"

"Scott, you're on my time and you're paying for my time right now is not the time to talk about my sex life with you or anyone else. We're here to talk about YOU and how you're not going to end up in jail because you know the family is pushing you to be put in jail for the trauma you caused."

"I know. I made a mistake, Audrey. I made a big mistake getting behind the wheel of that car was the biggest mistake of my life. If I could go back to that night I would do things differently. I think about it all the time."

"While I know you're sorry I don't think your apology is going to make up for the fact that you almost killed two little girls," I say looking over the details. "They are 5 and 7, Scott not much younger than your kids. The 7 year old may never be able to walk again and the 5 year old is traumatized by the accident not to mention the father that will remain in a wheelchair the rest of his life and the mother who nearly died from the impact of your car hitting theirs. This is your first offense right?"

"Yes," he answers settling back in the chair with a look of defeat on his face.

"And because of your blood alcohol level being .18% they are charging you with an aggravated DWI. If it was your first DWI offense and not an aggravated one you wouldn't be eligible for jail time but you're looking at up to a year in jail, $1,000-$2500 fine and a year without your license. I know you don't want to go to jail but they are going to push it and they want you to get the maximum after everything you caused. The choice is yours you can let this go to court and go to trial, allow the jury to reach a verdict and allow the judge to sentence you or you can make a deal. What do you want to do Scott?" I ask.

"Well, we already know I am guilty so taking it to trial wouldn't that be stupid they have all the evidence against me," he says. "I don't want to go to jail. I can't go to jail. Zandra will use that against me in the custody battle. I am an attorney that has put rapists and drug dealers as well as gang members in jail. It's not safe for me to be in jail."

"Yeah, that's a smart guess," I say as I take a bite of my sandwich. "You would be endangered in jail. You would be a target so the best thing to do is keep you out of jail."

"Zandra is going to hang me by the balls regardless," he says.

"What do you think the DA is going to do to you?" I ask. "He is going to hang you by the balls just make the plea and take a deal just tell me what you're offering and it needs to be good to trump a year of you being in jail, Scott so what are you offering to plead guilty?" I ask.

"Well, I was thinking that if I plead guilty to offer going to a drug and alcohol rehab to get the help that I need mandatorily, giving up my license for a year, having a device locked into my car to breathe into each time I drive. I will pay the fine and I will pay for medical expenses and I will pay for whatever therapy they may need. I will even do community service," he explains, "that's what I am offering. Do you think that's enough?"

"It's worth a try but the DA could shoot it down you may have to actually go to jail maybe not for a year but you might need to spend some time in jail but we would have to make sure you're protected."

"Then what's the point in making a deal?" he asks.

"To keep you out of jail for a year," I say. "I told you we would try this out and see what the DA says essentially it is up to them and up to the family whether they accept your deal or not. How truly sorry are you for what you've done? Do you realize you have a problem?"

"Audrey" he says, "I know and I'm going to get help for that problem. I'm going to sober up. I am truly sorry. I will openly apologize to the family in court if I need to. I will write them an apology letter but telling them I am sorry will not take back the damage I caused their family. I could have killed their daughters," he shakes his head and I see the remorse in his eyes. "I'm sorry. If they don't accept the deal I will go to jail. I will take my punishment but I want to try the deal first."

"All right," I say writing it down. "I will talk to the DA and I will let you know what he says."

"Thanks, Audrey," he says, "so what can you do about Zandra and the custody of my kids?"

"What's the current arrangement? Do you have a custody agreement in place?"

"No not now," he says. "And that's the problem. I want more time with my kids. I deserve to see them but she never lets me see them."

"I can draw up a petition to be delivered to the courts," I say, "but honestly I think you and Zandra would do better in mediation than in court. With your DWI I have to be honest with you it does not work in your favor but have you been documenting all the times you wanted to see your kids but she wouldn't allow you to?"

"Of course I document it but you're powerful enough I know that you can do this, Audrey. I want 50/50. Zandra can have primary custody and that would be their primary address but I want weekends, every other weekend works too, holidays. I want to split holidays with her and over summer break I want them for two full weeks over the summer. She has made this difficult for me but that's what I want. I want to have a part in their lives. I miss them."

"I know you do," I say remembering hearing him tell me how much his daughters meant to him and how he wished he could get more time with them but Zandra doesn't allow him to get any time with him. "How many times would you say that you had them in the last year?"

"Twice," he says, "that's all. She doesn't let me call them, doesn't tell me about school events it's like she's trying to erase me from their lives. I do love my kids, Audrey. Isabella and Sophie mean everything to me. I want to be involved and I am trying she's not letting me because she thinks I fucked you while we were married," he says making me cringe.

"Maybe I am not the best attorney for this case," I say. "I mean there are some personal issues there. I don't know how I would do in court as your lawyer."

"You're the best. I want you to be my lawyer," he smiles. "I just want my kids, Audrey. That's all I want."

"I'll do what I can," I say. "I will do what I can."

"That's all I ask," he says. "I screwed everything up on Christmas Eve. I lost you because of it. I wanted to be with you and I screwed it up so now you and Joe are together?"

"We are," I say, "and honestly Scott I don't think you and I would have ever been together. It would have been weird with Joe's kids. I don't know. I just didn't feel that way about you."

"I understand," he says as he stands up, "but if you and Joe ever break up you know you always have a place in my bed," he smiles and for the first time I realize that's all I truly was to him; a lay nothing more than that. I'm not upset or anything just indifferent.

After Scott leaves my office I reach out to the DA and tell them about the deal Scott wants to make but he has to talk it over with the family first before making a decision. I'm hoping that it will be accepted and I start to draw up papers for Scott to get custody of his kids before I spend time going over the cases I have coming up in the next couple days. I know it's going to be a busy day in the courtroom but the one case I am worried about is in a month where I am working with a well-known gang member in the community that has a long rap sheet. I have to get him off for rape and drugs it doesn't make me happy but as a lawyer I have learned that you get some of those cases you don't like, the tough cases where you have to defend the guilty to prove they are innocent. It's a dangerous case and sometimes it's a risk I have to take. I finish up my work at the office by 11 that night before I finally head back home to my penthouse apartment. I don't even bother changing out of my work clothes before I go to bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow I am out.

I wake up to the feeling of my bed dipping down in the early morning hours it's probably about 4 or 5 in the morning. I roll over as my eyes open to see Joe getting into our bed. "You're home, Baby," I say with a sleep filled voice and a smile.

"Yeah I am home," he smiles back at me before he wraps his arms around me. He kisses my lips softly and I kiss him back stroking the length of his back. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I have to wake up soon anyway," I hold onto him, cuddling up to him taking in the warmth of his body on this cold winter night. "Red eye?"

"Yeah," he smiles. "How was the appointment? Everything good with the babies?" he asks giving me butterflies as he places his open palm under my blouse and on my stomach. "I think you're getting a bump."

"I think so too," I smile taking in his scent. "The appointment went great. I am 8 weeks, due August 30th but the babies could come any time between August 16- August 20. They look so healthy and they look like little babies now they are definitely going to be identical twins. They were the cutest. I will show you the sonograms later."

"I can't wait to see them. I'm glad it went well."

"Me too," I say as I look into his dark brown eyes. "And they are going to do that blood test at my next appointment so we can find out the gender. I kind of want to have a gender reveal party for our families and then we can tell them we're together. What do you think? Have them come to New York for the weekend or something, have a gender reveal party to find out the sex of the babies."

"It sounds good to me," he says holding me close as he rubs my stomach. I kiss his lips softly. "I love you," he says with a smile.

"I love you too," I say with a smile of my own.

"What do you think the babies are if you could take a guess what do you think?"

"I don't know, sometimes I think girl and sometimes I think boy but right now I am feeling girls. Which is a nightmare come true," I say with a smile, "imagine two little girls JUST like me."

"I'll be grey by 40," he chuckles with his beautiful laugh. "So do you want to go back to sleep or do you want to do something else?"

"Joe, it's me. Obviously something else," I smile before he takes my lips and it isn't long until we are making love until the sun starts to peak through the window of my penthouse apartment as it begins to rise.

 ***A/N: Do you think Stephanie could give Joe off for Summerslam since he asked so far in advance or is she being stubborn? What did you think of Audrey's boss telling her to work harder? Do you think she should cut back on the job she's doing? Do you think her being Scott's lawyer is a bad thing? What do you think of her defending the gang member is that too risky for her? What do you think of Joe and Audrey having a gender reveal to reveal the sex of the babies? What do you want them to have girls or boys? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	11. Chapter 11

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

 **Audrey**

I just put my lasagna into the oven as I wait for Joe to arrive with his family and I wait for my brothers and parents to show up. They are staying with us for the weekend so we can do our gender reveal. I had my blood test at the beginning of the week and the results came back a couple days ago. Gratefully our children don't have any chromosomal abnormalities but the gender has been kept secret, sent off to the place that prepared our gender reveal products. I'm hoping for boys while Joe is hoping for girls. I set the table so that's one last thing to do when everyone arrives. Just as I finish setting the table the buzzer goes off. I walk to the intercom and say, "Yes?"

"Audrey, we're here," I hear my brother Enzo's voice. "Let us up!" he says with happiness.

"All right," I say before granting them access into the building and up to my penthouse apartment. I wait for them to reach my door and a few minutes later there is a knock at my door. I hurry to the door and open it with a smile, excited to see my family after what happened over Christmas. "Hey!" I say with a smile inviting them in.

My brother Antonio lets out a whistle as he steps inside and takes in the scenery around him. "It looks like you are making out pretty well for yourself up here no wonder you never come back home."

"I came home over Christmas," I say with a smile, "and I plan to come home a lot more or have y'all come here a lot more often. I realized how much I missed my family in the last few years. Plus with being pregnant I want the babies to have a relationship with my family and Joe's family."

"I know," says Antonio before he gives me a hug. I hug and greet my other brothers Mateo, Dominick and Enzo as they enter my apartment.

"Hey, Mom," I say greeting her with a hug.

"Hey, Sweetheart," she says with a smile. "You're looking beautiful, you're glowing," she says, "how are you feeling? How's the morning sickness?" she asks.

"I'm feeling all right today. The morning sickness is getting better as I am getting closer to the second trimester. I'm starting to get cravings," I say with a smile, "I've been craving a lot of spicy foods and salty foods but nothing sweet."

"Boys," she says with a smile. "You're having boys."

"We don't know that but I hope so," I say. "I think I will do better with boys than girls but I will be happy no matter what as long as they are healthy."

"I need grandsons," says my Papa. "Hey, Beautiful," he says.

"Grandsons?" I ask giving him a hug. "Were 4 boys not enough for you, Papa?"

"Yes but I have three granddaughters," he says with a smile. "I would like some grandsons," he smiles.

"Well, hopefully Joe allowed that to happen," I say with a smile. "Would y'all like a tour of the Penthouse? Joe will be here soon with Monica and Sika," I say with a smile and "then we can eat."

"That would be lovely," says my mother. "It already looks pretty nice," she says looking around the foyer.

"Thank-you," I say with a smile before I lead them through the foyer into the living room. "This is the living room," I say showing everyone the living that's furnished with a black leather sectional, leather arm chair and a black leather love seat with the walls painted slate grey with an enlarged photo of Joe and Me together from our pregnancy announcement photos. I'm in my New York Giants jersey and hat holding a sonogram picture of the twins on Joe's back while he's wearing his 49ers jersey holding a football that says Game Day August 30, 2018 on it. It's one of the few pictures of Joe and I in the house I plan to get more after the babies are born and then to have some couple pictures taken together. The walls are also decorated with artwork, paintings that I spent a lot of money on and wooden signs with quotes on them. In the middle of the living room is a coffee table holding books and coasters with a 70 inch TV plastered onto the wall with an entertainment center holding a blu-ray disc player and Joe's game systems and video games.

"I really like that picture of you and Joe," says my mom giving me a knowing smile. "Your pregnancy announcement photos were beautiful."

"I didn't expect anything less from these two," says my brother Enzo. "The same two people that would have a gender reveal Superbowl weekend."

"Football fanatics," says Antonio as I show them my kitchen with the sandstone marbled floor, with an island in the middle of the kitchen and fresh wooden cabinets with stainless steel refrigerator and dishwasher. Being from an Italian family and having a papa that owns a successful Italian restaurant the kitchen is the most important room in the house. My kitchen isn't as big as I would like it to be but it's decent and it works for just Joe and me. I show them the dining room and then take them down the hall showing them the bathroom decorated in a light blue color with a shower and a toilet and a small sink. I take them down the hall showing them the two guest rooms.

"Enzo, Antonio, Mateo and Dom, you four will be staying in the first guest room but it won't be a guest room too much longer because Joe and I are going to turn it into a nursery for the babies. And Mama and Papa, this is the room you will be staying in," I say showing them the room Joe once resided in but he has since moved everything into my room.

"And where is Joe staying?" asks my papa. "Where does he sleep? This room doesn't look like anyone has slept in it for weeks."

"We'll talk about that later," I say as we move out of the room. I show them my bedroom that's painted in soft grey and yellow, my bed made with a light yellow and grey bedspread, the carpet a soft grey with white dressers in the room. I point out the walk-in-closet and then show them the master bathroom without showing them Joe's shoes and bathroom items on my tour. "So that's it," I say with a smile as we walk out of the room shutting the door behind me. "And the laundry room is a mess I'm lacking time to do laundry with work. I just picked up a heavier workload in the last month." I say just as my Persian cat Whiskers comes out to greet everyone. I pick him up and say, "This is Whiskers."

"Cute cat," says my mom, "but what are you going to do when the babies come. Cats can be very territorial and they aren't always the friendliest with newborns."

"I'm not getting rid of him. I will let him walk around the nursery, smell the crib and everything. He's a good cat he should be all right with the babies," I say as the front door opens. I put the cat down and smile as Joe walks in with his parents. They are also staying at the apartment but Joe and I are allowing them to stay in our bedroom while we take the living room for ourselves.

"Hello, Monica and Sika," I say with a greeting smile before I walk over and greet them with a hug.

"Hello, Audrey," says Monica. "You're glowing," she says with a warm smile. I love Joe's mom. I always did she's one of the sweetest most down to earth women I have ever met she's always been a second mother to me. "And I can't believe you two are having twins, are you excited?" she asks as Joe walks over and wraps his arm around my waist. I look up at him with a smile as I wrap my arm around his waist.

"It was a surprise," I say, "a really big surprise but yes we are very excited," I answer. "I can't wait to meet them."

"I can't wait to spoil them," she says with a smile before she and Sika walk over to see my brothers and my parents.

While everyone's attention is detained Joe and I sneak a quick soft kiss on the lips. He walks with me to the kitchen while our families are talking with each other getting comfortable in the living room. "How's dinner?" he asks as he stands with me in the kitchen looking good as always dressed in a black t-shirt and a pair of dark blue denim jeans with his hair pulled up into a low bun. "Need help with anything?"

"No, I got it all under control," I say with a smile. I can't believe how similar we are dressed today with us both in black shirts and jeans but my hair is hanging down as I hate to pull it up ever!

"Come here," he says to me and I walk to him into his arms as he embraces me. I wrap my arms around his large body resting my head on his chest. I feel him kiss the top of my head making me smile as he holds me in our kitchen. "I missed you," he says.

"I missed you too," I smile. "You know my Papa is here so you know what that means? Impress the hell out of him," I say. "You know how he is with his only daughter and you know you're my first boyfriend ever."

"I know," he says stroking my spine softly. "Is it bad that your Papa scares me just a little bit? I never approached him as your boyfriend just always as your best friend. What if he doesn't think I am good enough for you?"

"I am pretty sure they don't get any better than you besides you have advantage he's known you forever and he likes you. I know he's a bit rough and he's going to be old fashion about us living together and sleeping together but it will be okay," I say looking up at him with a smile. "Don't worry," I say as my hands slide down to his ass cheeks and I squeeze them softly. He lets out a soft moan making me smile.

"Your dad is in the living room," he whispers sending a chill up my spine. "Don't start something you can't finish for the next few days," he warns. I raise my brow at him in challenge. "Audrey," he says with warning before his lips are on mine, kissing me soft and deep, I kiss him back, his tongue lounging into my mouth, dipping in making me moan against him.

"Audrey do you…." I hear my mother's voice and break the kiss. I wipe my mouth as I separate myself from Joe but he keeps me close with his arm wrapped around my waist, stroking my hip softly. "I was going to see if you needed any help but you and Joe?" she asks with a smile.

"Yes," I say honestly with a smile. "He's my man," I say claiming ownership over my best friend.

"And she's my lady," he says making me smile.

"When did this happen? Was it before or after the twins were made?"

"Well, it all really began Christmas Eve but it wasn't official until about a month ago but don't say anything," I say, "we are planning on telling everyone at dinner."

"I expected," she says with a smile, "I've been looking at your Instagram lately and your Facebook page. I was seeing a lot more pictures of you and Joe. And then there were the pregnancy announcement photos that you posted. I could see it in your eyes, the way you looked at each other, the way you were posing. I'm happy for you two. Are you two happy?" she asks.

"Happier than ever," I say.

"She keeps me grounded and keeps me happy," he says with a smile before kissing my temple softly.

"I have to hug both of you," she says with excitement as we let out a small laugh. She comes over and hugs us both out of happiness. I just hope my Papa is just as happy for us as she is. I know everyone else will be my Papa is just tough. "So do you two need help with anything?" she asks as the oven timer goes off.

"No," I say, "we got this. Just go tell the others that supper is ready," I say with a smile.

"All right," she says before she leaves the kitchen.

"And that is happiness," I say with a smile as I move to the sink to wash my hands.

"You're my happiness," he says making me smile.

"You're mine too," I say. "Can you get a bottle of wine out of the wine cabinet for everyone and I will just have a glass of water."

"Okay," he says with a smile before I take the lasagna out of the oven. I take it to the dining room that's another one of my designed rooms with dark grey walls, with more wooden signs with quotes on them along with the Wine cabinet, a plant and a nice dining room table. I put a piece of lasagna on everyone's plate as they come into the dining room.

Every takes a seat as Joe goes around asking everyone if they would like wine or water. Like I thought everyone drinks wine while I have water. Joe takes a seat next to me as we pass around the green salad I prepared as well for dinner tonight and the garlic bread and Italian bread. "I'm sorry that I didn't make the bread homemade. I was running low on time with work today," I say.

"It's fine," says my Papa. "It's all really good are you sure you don't want to come work for me in Pensacola."

"Positive," I say with a smile as I dig into my lasagna savoring the first bite as the babies seem to appreciate it leaving me wanting more.

"This is amazing, Audrey," says Enzo, "so we know that you can actually cook."

"Shut up," I say with a smile. "Papa and mom taught me how to cook. I just don't have much time to cook. We literally eat out a lot, but once the babies get here I'm going to stop that. I have a plan for the babies to eat healthy home cooked meals."

"That's good," says Dominick. "Do you two have any names picked out? Will they have the last name Romano or Anoa'i?" he asks.

"We haven't really discussed names," says Joe. "So we aren't 100% sure but we did decide to honor both of our families one twin will have a Polynesian name while the other will have an Italian name as for the last name we decided we would hyphenate their last name as Romano-Anoa'i out of respect for both of our families," he says giving me a look and I smile at him because that was our decision. If we ever get married I will hyphenate my last name so I share the same last name as our children.

"Nice," he says, "so what possessed you two to have a gender reveal Superbowl weekend?"

"Because we are football fanatics," I say with a smile, "wasn't this discussed earlier and it goes with our pregnancy announcement photos. Although this guy here thinks our kids are going to be 49ers fans but no they will be Giants fans just like they will be Yankee fans and Knicks fans," I say with a smile.

"Yeah, no," he says, "and let me guess you think they will be NYU fans as well?"

"Well, I was going to give them Georgia Tech," I smile, "but you're in New York, you support New York teams here. I love this city."

"We'll see," he says with a smile and I wrap my foot and leg around his under the table. He makes me smile as I feel his large hand on my thigh under the table. The fact I can't make love to him until our families leave is hard. I want him more than anything at the moment. He squeezes it softly before he moves his hand up my thigh in a scandalizing move. I raise my eyebrow at him and he raises one back in challenge.

"Um," says Enzo, "is there something you two want to tell us," he says as I take my gaze off of Joe and take my attention back to our family as he continues to massage my thigh under the table.

"Since you asked," I say with a smile, "we were going to announce it over dinner anyway but yes we are in a relationship. Joe is my boyfriend," I say with a smile.

"It's about fucking time!" says Antonio. "It only took over 20 years for it to happen."

"I knew it!" says Monica. "I knew it."

"So are you happy?" asks Joe.

"Yeah," answers Enzo, "it was getting to be a lot of built up sexual tension between you two every time you are together. I'm glad you finally realized that you're both crazy about each other."

"And this is good for the babies," says Monica. "You being together, Isabel we might be planning a wedding with Audrey soon."

"We aren't that far," says Joe. "Maybe someday but we haven't really thought about it. This is just a month in."

"Out of 20 years of being best friends you both know each other better than anyone else," says my mom. "This is great."

"It is pretty great," Joe says proudly.

"And you're living together?" asks my Papa.

"Yes, Sir," he says. "We do live together."

"Audrey," says my Papa. "You know how I feel about this living together before marriage, having sex before marriage."

"At least I am with a man," I say, "remember you thought there was a time I was just going to die alone. Yes, Joe and I live together and yes we sleep together obviously but I love him and he loves me," I say making Joe smile as I speak the words out loud. "He treats me well, Papa and it isn't like you haven't known him since I was younger."

"I don't agree with it but you are almost 32 years old and you seem happy," he smiles, "and that's all I want is for my baby girl to be happy. I am sure you could have found someone out there that I wouldn't have liked but I like Joe. They have all been like family to us and hopefully he really does become family to us," he says in his broken English.

"Thank-you," I say with a smile. "I'm happy."

"I'm glad," he says with a smile. "Joe, don't wait too long to put that ring on her finger," he says.

"She's a stubborn one," he says with a smile, "but I'll try as hard as I can ultimately it's all up to her and maybe she doesn't want to get married and I am fine with that. We don't have to be married to show we love each other or be married to be happy. I can be happy without the ring and the paper."

"That's true," says Mateo, "but she is our baby sister remember so don't hurt her."

"I wouldn't imagine doing such a thing," he smiles as he squeezes my thigh. "I love you," he says to me softly before he kisses my lips softly as everyone awws at the display of affection.

"I love you too," I say with a smile.

Telling our families about our relationship didn't turn out too bad. I knew they were going to be happy but the rest of dinner was talking about the possibility of Joe and I getting married, having more children after the twins. I'm not opposed to marriage, I'm just not fond of the idea of marriage. I mean after all I have my first boyfriend at almost 32 years old because I didn't want the commitment but Joe and I ending up together was inevitable. It was going to happen sometime and it has. I couldn't be happier to be with my best friend, have his babies and grow old together whether there is a ring or not Joe and I have forever together.

 **THE NEXT DAY GENDER REVEAL DAY:**

"Are you ready to find out today?" asks Joe as we arrive at the local high school football field on an unusually warm February morning.

"Yeah I am," I say with a smile. "Are you?"

"I can't wait," he says parking the car. "Final guess," he says, "Girls or boys?"

"Boys," I say, "you? What do you think?"

"I want to say girls but based on your cravings already and other wives tales I have to say boys but I am holding out for little girls. I want two little girls I can spoil and make them daddy's girls." I smile at him and his enthusiasm. I lean over and kiss his lips softly.

"We're about to find out," I say with a smile before we get out of the car. He takes my hand and we walk to the football field. He's dressed in a pink football jersey with the number 8 on it with Romano-Anoa'i on the back showing he wants baby girls while I have on a blue jersey with the number 30 on it with Romano-Anoa'i on the back showing I want boys. Of course everyone has their preference as we reach the football field meeting up with our families. Sika is wearing a blue shirt while Monica has on a pink shirt, my brothers Dominick and Antonio both wear blue along with my Papa while Enzo, Mateo and my mom wear pink shirts. I am growing more excited by the minute.

"Is this going to be accurate?" asks Monica, "I thought they couldn't determine sex until 20 weeks."

"I had a blood test done and they said it's pretty accurate. It does determine the gender."

"Okay because I don't want to be told it's one sex and then it end up being a different sex."

"You shouldn't have that problem," I say with a smile. "I'm excited!" I say. "I would never make it 20 weeks." She lets out a small laugh before hugging me.

"You two look cute," she says with a smile. "I'm happy for both of you."

"Thank-you," I say as I see Joe getting pink lines painted under his eyes before I get blue painted under mine by Monica. I thank her and then walk over to Joe and say, "Let's get a picture together."

"All right," he says with a smile. He stands next to me with his hand on my slightly growing stomach as we both smile into my cellphone for our picture. I post it on Instagram captioning it with a hashtag saying boy or girl and #teamblueIhope.

Joe takes the football containing the blue or pink powder inside out of the box carefully so he can kick it to reveal the gender. "Only you two," says Enzo shaking his head. "Your kids are going to be the biggest football fans."

"That was a given," smiles Joe. "I mean I played football all my childhood and played college ball. I would have played pro but didn't make it like I wanted to."

"Well, you could be having two little football players," he says.

"Or cheerleaders," says Monica.

"True," says Joe. "So is everyone ready?"

"Of course," says my Papa. "I need to see if I am getting grandsons or granddaughters, I prefer boys but I will love the girls the same."

"Well, let's find out. Mateo, you going to record this?" I ask.

"Sure," he says. I hand him my phone and tell him what to do. "I got it," he says before I thank him I make my way over to Joe.

"You ready?" I ask with a smile.

"Are you ready?" he asks with an even bigger smile.

"Let's do this," I say with a smile. He hands me the football. "Everyone ready?" I ask and they all cheer that they are.

I hand the ball to Joe and move beside him. He takes it and gets ready to kick it. I feel like a child on Christmas day as I wait for him to kick it. He gets in position and he kicks the ball as it explodes with BLUE powder. "THEY ARE BOYS!" I scream as Joe and I embrace each other. "Boys," I say with a smile as I look into his dark brown eyes.

"We're having boys." He says softly before taking my lips as we share a deep kiss in celebration of the news. I couldn't be happier to have sons because I know I couldn't handle daughters. Once we break our kiss and our embrace our families come over and take turns hugging us and congratulating us.

"And you're going to have your hands full," says my mama. "I know I have 4 boys you'll have fun," she says. "Congratulations." I hug her back as I thank her in her ear.

 ***A/N: What did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	12. Chapter 12

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much***

" _AUDREY!"_ Joe calls out beneath me as my hands are digging into his firm chest as I ride him during our early morning sex session. "Fuck," he says with his fingers digging into my thighs, his hips arching up meeting me, keeping my hard tempo, my breasts no longer tender bounce up and down as I move hard and fast over him, taking every inch of him. Joe was gone for a couple days after our gender reveal to work on RAW and to do some appearances that didn't bring him home until this morning, early this morning after a red eye flight out of Chicago with him coming into our apartment at 5 in the morning just about an hour and a half before I wake up for work. I have lost all my morning sickness but gained a sexual appetite. I heard stories that at the end of your 1st trimester and the beginning of your 2nd trimester your sex drive picks up and you become hornier than ever before. I can attest to the fact that as I am getting ready to enter into my second trimester in a week and a half that I was horny enough to attack Joe when he climbed into our bed. I was on him the moment he got under the covers and we have been at it for at least 45 minutes with no sign of it ending anytime soon. "God, Audrey," he says as I grind down on him. I lean down taking his mouth as I continue my rough movements, kissing him rough with deep plunges of my tongue in his mouth as he squeezes my butt cheeks, guiding me on and off of his erection.

I pull away from him and place my hands back on his chest, throwing my head back as I feel the passion ripping and tearing through me, the passion burning deep inside of me, my fingers flexing, nails digging into his flesh, feeling myself sucking him deeper in side of me, making myself tighter against him, my toes curling, "JOE!" I cry out as I find my climax, releasing myself around him as I continue riding out my orgasm.

My orgasm was all it took for Joe to find his, I felt him growing thicker and harder inside of me, his fingers in my flesh, digging deep into my thighs. He let out a groan and a cry of pleasure, "AUDREY!" as he hit his climax, spurting his seed inside of me. I take his mouth, kissing him deep and softer than before as he empties himself into me. I remove my body from his as he takes me in his arms, holding me close, his fingertips stroking my arm softly as I trace his Samoan tattoo on his arm that he got back in college and has had work done on it every few years as a story of his family's legacy. "Well, that was one hell of a homecoming," he says with amusement making me smile. "Did you miss me or the sex?" I can tell he's joking because he knows I miss him every time he's gone.

I appease him and tease him saying, "The sex but I did think about you too," I smile before I kiss his tattoo softly.

"So that's what you like about me the sex?"

"Well, as you know I am a woman of high passions but being 11 weeks pregnant and nearly 12 weeks pregnant my passions are even higher and stronger," I say looking into his dark brown eyes as a smile of amusement come across his beautiful lips.

"A woman of high passions? I never would have guessed," he says with amusement. I kiss his plump lips softly.

"But you know I always miss you! _Always_."

"I know baby girl," he says before he kisses my forehead. "But that welcome home greeting made my entire day."

"And you probably didn't sleep at all," I say, "I'm sorry, Baby."

"Nothing for you to be sorry about," he says with a smile. "I missed you too and now we are entering into the busy time of the year."

"Wrestlemania time?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's a pretty busy time. Are you coming to New Orleans for Wrestlemania weekend with me? We can go to the Hall of Fame Ceremony together and at the show you can sit in the suite with my family and then you can come down front row when I have my match."

"I'll be there," I smile. "I wouldn't miss it. I just hope I can find a dress that will hide my baby bump. I don't want your fans knowing I'm pregnant. I already hate that they know we're together and I get hate for no reason."

"That's just those jealous female fans that want me but can't have me. I get hate for being with you because you can do better than me," he says.

"They're crazy," I say rolling my eyes with a smile.

He takes his free hand and sprawls his open palm on my slightly growing stomach. I'm not showing too much but I definitely have a tiny bump forming so it will be even harder to hide my pregnancy behind my clothes. He rubs my stomach softly. "How are my boys today?" he asks making me smile.

"They're good," I say with a smile. "I still can't believe we are having boys. I mean that's what I wanted but for it to be happening is a different story. They are going to be so spoiled and loved. I love them so much already. Thank-you so much."

"No, thank-you, Audrey. We did this together and we are both extremely blessed to have these baby boys in our lives. If we would have just waited a couple weeks more we could have done it the natural way."

"I think we did it the way it was supposed to happen because it was that that brought us together," I smile, "and I wouldn't change it for the world."

"Neither would I," he says before kissing my lips softly keeping his hand on my belly as I cover his hand with mine. "You work today?"

"Yeah, I have to meet with the D.A. about Scott this morning, then I have to meet with Scott to tell him what the D.A. says and then I have to go to the prison to meet with a client."

"To a prison?" he asks and I can hear the concern and worry in his voice. "Is that safe, I mean you're pregnant. Why do you have to go to prison?"

"Because he's a gang member that's in jail that I was given from Scott's client list. I don't like the idea either, Baby but I have to do my job. I will have a guard with me."

"I don't like the idea," he says.

"Neither do I but I will be all right, I promise."

"Okay," he says. "I hope so."

"I will be," I say trying to reassure him but really trying to reassure myself. I thought about giving the case up to Peterson and letting Peterson manage it but I didn't want it to look negative on me. I know it's a risk, I know it's not safe but what's going to happen in a prison with guards nearby and what's going to happen in a courtroom when there are armed officers standing guard as well as metal detectors so that no one gets in with a weapon. This is New York City they don't take security lightly and most places in the City require metal detectors and security checks after the attacks on 9/11 but also with the mass shootings they have really upped their security methods. I'm just still uneasy about the case itself because it is for rape and assault and I need to be the one to get him off which goes against everything I believe in.

"All right," he says kissing my lips again. "You need to take a shower and get yourself ready for work and I need to make you breakfast. What do you want?"

"Hmm," I say. "Nothing with eggs, the boys do not like eggs and I don't like the look of eggs or the smell right now. How about French Toast with lots for fruit mainly blueberries and strawberries," I say.

"I can make that happen," he smiles. We reluctantly get out of bed. He goes into the bathroom with me to clean himself up while I start the shower for me. He kisses my lips softly before he leaves me to go cook me some breakfast while I step into the hot shower and enjoy it.

After my shower I get dressed in a black silk blouse and a pair of grey pinstripe pants before brushing through my hair after blow drying it. I put on a little bit of makeup but not a lot just enough to enhance my natural beauty. I throw on a pair of black flats having given up my heels so my feet don't hurt at the end of the day from swelling. I make my way out to the kitchen where Joe is finishing up our breakfast. I sit and share breakfast with him before I have to leave for work. I grab my briefcase, kiss his lips softly and then make my way out the door greeting the door man on my way out as my driver is waiting for me by the curb. He opens the black SUV door for me and I climb in before he shuts the door and rounds the car to the driver's seat. He pulls out into the daily Manhattan traffic that is bumper to bumper. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else other than New York. It's such a beautiful city despite what people think about it. I enjoy the morning chaos of traffic, the sights and sounds of the city. I enjoy going to Central Park in the summer time, the fall and spring time taking walks and enjoying the park. I enjoy eating dirty water hot dogs and taking a horse and carriage ride through the park. I am the most obnoxious New York Sports Team fan there ever was but I love New York and enjoy going to see Broadway shows, sitting at a Yankees game at Yankee Stadium, watching the Knicks play at the Garden and enjoy watching the Giants play at Metlife. I love New York in general and can't wait to raise our boys in the city.

I arrive at the D.A.'s office a few minutes later. I get out of the SUV as my driver holds the door open for me. I give him the time to pick me up and walk into the building. I show my ID to the security guards as I go through a security check before they allow me to meet with Manhattan's D.A. I walk to his office and knock on the door. The door opens as D.A. William Peters stands there. I can't say that he's not an attractive man because he is very attractive but also very good at his job. He is a threat to me in the courtroom. He stands in a grey suit with a white shirt and black tie. He gives me a smile as his blue eyes sparkle with a gleam telling me that I am not winning Scott's case. "Ms. Romano," he says, "what a pleasure as always."

"I can't say the same for you, Mr. Peters. May I come in."

"Please," he says leading me into his office. He shuts the door behind us. I take a seat at the chair by his desk as he makes his way over to his desk and takes a seat. I know this isn't going to be easy by his confident stride and his arrogant smile. I personally think he's an asshole but that's my opinion. Most women fall for him but not me, never have I either. "So you want to talk about a deal for Mr. Richardson," he says.

"Mr. Richardson has come up with a deal," I say.

"I know, I read it and I'm saying no, Ms. Romano. It's a no go for me and it's a no go for the family. He almost killed a family with his negligence. He needs to be in jail."

"It's his first offense," I say.

"Would it have made a difference if he killed the family or someone in the family? He would be up for a jail sentence for murder? He made a mistake I realize that but unfortunately this mistake changed an entire family's life and we are going for the max sentence of time in jail."

"He's willing to pay medical and therapy expenses and in the place of jail he's willing to go to a rehabilitation center for alcoholics. He is willing to give the guilty plea if you accept that deal."

"No, Audrey," he says, "the deal is off the table and we're going to trial. It will be up for the jury to decide. There's enough evidence to convict him of this and we are motioning for him to have other legal representation," he says. "I mean clearly this is a conflict of interests you can't sleep with your attorney and expect them to defend you objectively."

"Correct me if I am wrong but in most cases is it not the lawyer's job to defend their client without objection to get them off for a crime? I mean obviously I am not going to be objective when it comes to my clients. I am going to want to win the case. I don't think my relationship with Scott should be an issue and just so you're aware I do not have a relationship with Scott anymore. I am involved with someone else and having twin boys with him. Scott is just my client. You and I both know he made a mistake. The maximum sentence here is a year. I am sorry for what the family is going through but a year in jail for Scott is not going to change a thing. Why not just take the deal being offered and avoid the trial and putting this family through a long trial?"

"Because Richardson should have never gotten in that car drunk. He knew what he was doing, he chose to do it now he needs to face the consequences. The deal is off the table. He's going to jail and this is going to trial," he says, "there's no sugar coating."

"Fine," I say, "but it is a waste of time he knows he's guilty, everyone knows he's guilty. What if he did 6 months in jail, 6 months doing community service, a requirement of 30-60 days in a rehabilitation center, surrendering of his license for a year, pay all medical expenses and therapy costs as well as having a device put into his car?" I ask.

"9 months in jail of the 12 months maximum, 3 months community service, 60 days in a rehabilitation center, surrendering his driver's license for a year, all medical expenses paid and therapy costs covered," he says, "and if you can't accept that, Audrey then we're going to trial."

"I have to confer with my client before I agree to that," I say.

"Richardson is smart," he says, "He will make the deal."

"I will confer with my client and see what he says and then I will return back to you," I say, "and just because it goes to trial doesn't mean he will end up in jail for a year. You just want the maximum."

"He changed someone's life, Audrey. He deserves to go to jail they will never get their lives back to normal."

"I understand," I say as I stand up. "I will confer with my client and I will get back to you if we have a deal or not."

"Very well," he says with a smug smile. "I heard you took on the Ramirez Case. That's not something you're used to."

"I know," I say. "And I am going to meet with Ramirez in a little bit."

"Good luck," he says, "Maybe he will be up for a deal. A guilty plea for rape in the first degree, assault in the first degree and being in the possession of drugs for half of the maximum sentence I am willing to work with you and Mr. Ramirez. The maximum is 25 years to life. I am willing to give 25 years minimum jail time. What do you say, Romano?"

"I have to discuss it with my client," I say. "Have a good day, Peters."

"Good luck, Romano," he says smugly before I leave his office. I can't stand the guy. I leave the building, climb into the back of my SUV before I make my way to Rikers to visit with my client. I call Scott on the way.

"Audrey, did you meet with Peters?" asks Scott directly without a hello.

"Hello to you too," I say, "and yes I did. They want you to go to jail. He didn't accept the deal you offered. I tried for you but I didn't succeed you know how he is. He's an asshole."

"Yeah I know," he says, "so I am going to jail?"

"It looks like it but he did put a deal on the table it's up to you to take it. He is offering 9 months in jail, 3 months community service, 60 days in a rehabilitation center, no license for a year and you have to pay expenses. That's the deal on the table right now."

"But I am not guaranteed a year in jail," he says, "so why so much time in jail? I could go to trial and only get 3 months from the judge."

"That's risky, Scott, you know it," I say. "Why don't you just plead guilty and take the deal they are offering."

"I don't want to go to jail," he says.

"You're going to go to jail regardless."

"I guess you're right," he says. "Fine, I take the deal. I just want this over."

"All right," I say with a nod. "That's a good choice," I say. "I will let Peters know and we'll go from there. I know you don't want to go to jail but there's no way to avoid it. I'm sorry and I tried. Peters did talk about motioning for you to get a new attorney because of our relationship."

"He's an idiot," he says. "He's upset because you wouldn't sleep with him a few years ago and he still has that vendetta against us. He's a prick."

"A prick that's good at his job," I say. "I have to meet with Ramirez now. How did you get a case like this?"

"I like the thrill," he says making me smile. "You'll do great with it don't let him intimidate you."

"I don't let anyone intimidate me," I smile. "Well, I will let you go. I will be in touch. Have a good day."

"You too," he says before I hang up the phone and we continue to Rikers.

When we arrive at Rikers I get out of the SUV and walk into the building. They check me for contraband and weapons as well as collect my belongings except for my file for Mr. Ramirez. A guard guides me to the room I will be meeting with Ramirez. He lets me in and I see Ramirez sitting in his orange jumpsuit at a table. He looks at me with his dark brown eyes and I look back. "What did I do to deserve a beautiful woman to defend me," he says eyeing me up and down. "A much better sight than my old attorney," he smiles. "I appreciate the sight," he says with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Ramirez," I say. "I'm Audrey Romano, I will be representing you now."

"Call me Victor," he says as he shakes my hand. "So can you get me off?"

"I'm going to try," I say as I take a seat across from him making sure the guard is still present.

"Nervous," he says with a laugh. "I won't hurt you, Baby," he says, "maybe sex you up but we know I can't do that here," he says giving me a smile as my stomach aches. "Relax."

"I'm sorry, Victor," I say pulling things out. "D.A. Peters is offering a deal."

"Is he now?" he asks crossing his arms over his chest giving me full view of his tattoos. "What kind of bullshit deal is he offering?"

"25 years in prison for rape in the first degree, assault and possession of drugs for a guilty plea."

"Look, I'm no idiot. I'm not taking a deal or doing time for something I didn't do. I didn't rape that girl. I didn't do anything to her that she didn't want me to do to her."

"She was 16 years old, Victor," I say. "and then you assaulted her after you raped her."

"Is that the story she's telling? Look first I didn't know she was only 16 years old. She told me she was 20 years old and honestly she didn't look 16 so I believed her. She wanted it. She took me into that bedroom and she wanted it. I went along with what she wanted," he explains. "Tell Peters to shove the deal up his ass because I am not going down for rape. I didn't rape her. It was consensual sex. She's crying rape because her brother caught her coming out of the bedroom with me and then he beat her up," he says. "He went wild on her. I was protecting her," he says. "But I didn't rape or assault anyone I did have drugs on me at the time," he shrugs. "It's my business. I make a living selling drugs but I didn't rape that girl," he says again.

"She is still 16 years old," I say, "and you're 25."

"And she is 16 she is of the age of consent," he says, "look I don't rape women. It's not in my beliefs to rape women. I didn't rape her."

"It's rape in the 3rd degree whether you forced her to have sex or not."

"I didn't force anyone to have sex," he says, "aren't you supposed to be defending me, not going against me?"

"I'm sorry, I believe your story. I see that your old attorney has two witnesses that are willing to testify in court?"

"Yeah," he says. "There are witnesses that can tell you she told me she was 20 years old and tell you that she initiated sex as well and I didn't assault her. Her brother did. They're from a rival gang. He didn't like seeing me with his sister and he went nuts. He just attacked her and then came at me. I know my semen is inside of her because I didn't use a condom and that looks bad but she consented to having sex with me. She never said no," he says. "She willingly had sex with me I don't know if it was a set up or not but I didn't rape that girl. Were there signs of forced entry into her vagina? Any damage done to her vaginal area? The only thing they have is my DNA but I did not force myself on that girl."

"All right, I will do some more looking into it," I say. "And your witnesses are in a safe location so they cannot be harmed while we wait for trial. We go to court in April," I say. "We will get you off," I say.

"I hope so," he says. "I got a kid, I haven't seen him in months since I been here. My baby Mama won't bring him here to see me. Is my baby mama and my son safe?" he asks.

"As far as I know they are being protected that's why your child's mother hasn't been here. It is safer to keep her protected until this is over."

"All right," he says. "Look, I appreciate this. I have done a lot of shit in my life but I have never put my hands on a woman or raped her. My mama raised me right and I would never want my son to see me put my hands on a woman."

"I'm going to do what I can," I promise him.

"Thank-you," he says, "and I'm sorry about the disrespect when you came in here. You're beautiful and you're pregnant I can tell. I just need your help."

"You've got it," I smile. "And thank-you."

"You're welcome but this is a dangerous case to take on," he says. "Just be careful all right?"

"I'll be all right," I say but I'm not sure. It is a dangerous case. I meet with him a while longer before our meeting is over. He thanks me and I thank him before I shake his hand. I walk out believing he's innocent. I just have to prove it which means walking into even more dangerous territory. Joe is not going to be happy.

When I get home that evening I smile as I see Joe finishing up our dinner and the apartment has been cleaned as I can smell the lemon of the wooden polish. "Hey, Beautiful," he says to me as I greet him with a soft kiss.

"Hey, Baby," I say with a smile. "What are you making for dinner?" I ask as I get a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"Baked BBQ chicken, broccoli and some macaroni and cheese," he smiles.

"Sounds good," I say as I lean against the island, "so I went to see that guy in jail and I have to do more research."

"I don't like that, Audrey. I think it's dangerous especially if gangs are involved. I looked up about that case today. He raped a 16 year old girl, Audrey someone a rival gang member's little sister the gang is after him he's lucky to be alive and you have to get involved in that. What about the babies? What if something happens to you?"

"I'll be all right," I say, "I promise. Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

"I hope you're right, Audrey, this is dangerous. Please be careful all right?"

"I will," I promise him. "I will."

 ***A/N: What did you think? Should Audrey drop the case? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	13. Chapter 13

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much***

 **Audrey:**

"Good morning," I say to Scott as I meet him outside of the courtroom to wait for the 9 am court proceeding where he will plead guilty for his crimes, the D.A. and the family Scott crashed into on Christmas Eve accepted the deal and today we are moving forward not in the way Scott would like but he wants to get it over with as much as I do. Honestly I probably wouldn't have taken the deal because the maximum is 18 months in jail and he agreed to 9 months in jail with it being his first offense he probably would have gotten away with 3-6 months at the most but he made the deal.

"Good morning, Audrey," he says with a smile, a smile far too big for a man that is going to go to jail today. "You look beautiful, you're really glowing. How's the pregnancy going?" he asks.

"Thank-you," I say as I place my hand on my growing stomach, I can no longer hide my baby bump from the world. I officially started to show as I house the boys in my womb for the next few months. My business outfit clearly fitting me too snug as I make a mental note to do some maternity shopping in the next week to find comfortable clothes that fit that I can actually button shut without a struggle or better yet no buttons at all. "It's going really well," I say with a smile. "I'm 12 weeks along I actually have an ultrasound this afternoon to see the babies."

"Twins?" he asks. "That's pretty impressive."

"Joe and I were pretty surprised. We knew it was a possibility with the fertility drugs I took but for it to actually happen was pretty shocking. We are both happy about it."

"I'm glad that you're happy, Audrey, that's all I wanted for you was for you to be happy. I wish you could be happy with me but I understand I am not the man you want and honestly not the man you need in your life. You deserved better than me and I'm glad you found it."

"Scott, it isn't that you're not worthy of me or that you're a bad man but I just didn't see a future with you. I think you're a great man, I think you're going to make a woman, the right woman, happy someday. I wasn't and I never will be the right woman for you. I enjoyed our time together but things would have never worked out between us. I hope that you can be happy someday too."

"Do you love him?" he asks honestly.

"I believe I have always loved him," I say honestly. "I think I didn't realize it until I saw what he could and would sacrifice for me. I was his and am his best friend and he was willing to sacrifice his life to support me and help me with a decision I chose. He was willing to give me his sperm, walk away and let me raise our child and that takes a lot of love from a man. I think I have always loved him and he has always loved me I just never realized how much. He's been my best friend for years," I say.

He smiles at me and says, "I am happy for you, Audrey. I am truly happy for you."

"I appreciate it, Scott. We will always be friends you know that right?"

"I know," he smiles. "Thank-you for helping me."

"You don't have to thank me," I say. "You deserve someone to support you. I just want to see you get the help that you need so that you can get your kids back and so that you can find the right woman that will make you happy."

"I'm going to change my life," he says with a smile before we share a hug.

"Well, well, well," says the voice that reminds me of nails on a chalkboard, my least favorite D.A. I have ever met. "Isn't this a sight to be seen, the attorney sharing a loving embrace with her client? Audrey, I thought you were better than this, slumming it for a criminal? Tsk, tsk," he says and I roll my eyes as we break the embrace.

"No actually, Peters, I am with a WWE wrestler now and we are having babies together. Scott is just a friend what is it that you need? You got your plea, he accepted the deal what more do you want?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how far you're coming with the Ramirez case and if he wants to make a deal yet."

"Ramirez said you can take that deal and shove it up your ass," I say with a smile. "I will not discuss my client and the case with the enemy."

"Your client is the enemy, this case is a little too high profile for you. You're not used to defending people like Ramirez, if you were smarter you would talk your client into making a deal."

"Can't make a deal if you're innocent," I say with a smug smile, "and I will prove that my client is innocent."

"We will see," he says giving me a smug smile. "Too bad you're spoken for, Audrey a beautiful powerful woman like you belongs with a powerful handsome man like myself," he says.

"I find my boyfriend quite handsome and powerful thank-you but your arrogance never ceases to amaze me," I smile. He lets out a small chuckle before he walks away. "I'm sorry."

"You're fine don't sweat it, Peters is a first class asshole," he says.

"Tell me about it," I say before we are called into the courtroom for Scott to make his plea.

When we get into the courtroom we stand as the judge enters from his chambers. He tells everyone to be seated before he looks over the case. He announces the case and says, "I understand Ms. Romano's client has chosen to take a deal?"

"Yes, Your Honor," I say. "Mr. Richardson has chosen to take a deal by making a plea."

"Mr. Richardson," says the judge. "Are you sure you would like to make this deal? It is quite extensive and a far more time than what you could have been given as it is your first offense." I know what he means because the jail time is far more than anyone would receive for a first offense of an aggravated DWI in the state of New York.

"Yes, Your Honor," says Scott as we stand.

"And I assume you agree with this, Mr. Peters?"

"Yes, Your Honor," he responds with his arrogant cocky smile before he looks at us.

"All right, on the charges of aggravated DWI how does the defendant plead?"

"Guilty," says Scott.

"I will hereby sentence Mr. Scott Richardson to 9 months in Rikers Island for an aggravated DWI, Mr. Richardson will be required to attend a 3 month rehabilitation center for drug and alcohol abuse as well as give up his driver's license for an entire year," he says before he hits the gavel on the wood. "Court dismissed."

I watch as the officers take a willing Scott in handcuffs to the prison where he hopefully is kept away from the general public. I can't stand the thought of him being released among the criminals he has sent to prison and knowing the kind of danger he is in. I hug him goodbye before he is taken off to jail promising him I will work my hardest to help him get his kids back when he gets out. I turn and see Peters smiling at me almost mocking me before he turns to walk out. I shake my head as I follow behind him. I step out of the courtroom where I am stopped by someone. "Audrey Romano?" asks the tall man dressed in a suit.

"Yes?" I ask looking up at him. He looks like he could be Hispanic and I have never seen him before. "How can I help you?"

"You can't but this is for you," he says handing me a piece of paper and then he is gone when I look up from the folded piece of paper.

I open it and my heart starts to race as I read the bold print; **Drop the case if you know what's best for you.** I fold the paper back up and put it into my briefcase. I promise myself not to tell Joe about it because it's obviously just someone trying to scare me into dropping the Ramirez case. I have come too far and searched too far to prove that he is innocent. I walk out of the courthouse and get into my SUV. I watch the city around me as my driver pulls out into the traffic of the city taking me to my appointment with Joe for our ultrasound.

The SUV pulls up outside of our upper scale OB/GYN office located just outside the chaotic city and I see Joe standing by the door waiting for me dressed in jeans and a large winter coat blocking the frigid air from the winter wrath with a negative wind chill factor. Before my driver can reach me Joe is pulling open the door for me. I smile at him as he extends his hand for me helping me down out of the SUV. "I missed you," I say with a smile as I face him wrapping my arms around his waist.

"I missed you too," he says with a soft smile before kissing my lips softly. "How was court today?"

"Well, Scott is in jail for 9 months," I say shaking my head as Joe takes my hand and we walk into the office. I haven't seen him since the previous Friday morning before he left to go out on the road. He just returned home this morning after I went to work. "I have to tell Zandra so that she's aware."

"Wow," he says holding the door open for me. "Is he going to get the help that he needs?"

"He has to," I say. "I feel bad for him because he's not a bad guy just not the guy for me," I say as we walk up to the reception desk to tell them we are there for the ultrasound. "He deserves someone that can truly love him and want more from him than just a night or a few in his bed," I say as I see his jaw clench. "Joe, it's the truth. I want him to be happy. He wishes us happiness and I want to be friends with him for the simple fact he is not a bad guy."

"I understand that as long as he understands that you're just friends."

"I think he gets it," I say as we take a seat. He takes my hand into his lacing our fingers together.

"This is a pretty nice place," he says. "Very upscale."

"I know it's one of the best in the state," I say with a smile. "Are you excited about today?"

"I'm excited to see them," he says. "I hope they are both boys. I mean I accepted the fact that they are both boys so I don't want to face the disappointment you know?"

"Yeah," I say with a smile. "I think that the blood test is pretty accurate more accurate than an ultrasound. There have been cases where a couple was told their child was going to be a boy or a girl, they planned for that sex and then at delivery they were shocked to find out the doctor was wrong. I couldn't even imagine but I am pretty sure we are having baby boys," I say proudly as I put my hand on my stomach. "My dad is pretty happy about it."

"I know he is you would think after 4 boys and 1 girl that he would want a little granddaughter."

"Because he already has granddaughters," I say with a smile. "He doesn't have grandsons yet."

"I guess that's true my parents would have been happy no matter what. I think it's about even though."

"Yeah and you have a big family," I say.

"I know," he smiles. "Just wait until family reunions it's going to be crazy. I seriously don't know some of my family it's so large. It's funny because in WWE they always talk about how the Rock and I are related but in all fairness I have never met Dwayne," he says. "I have met him at wrestling but I have never really met him in my family. Not all Samoans are related either. I think that's a big misconception. Dwayne and I come from the same bloodline but we aren't that closely related."

"I see," I say. "I don't know anything about that wrestling bloodline stuff but I guess since I am carrying your sons I better learn it."

"Or just try to understand my family," he says wrapping his arm around my shoulder. He kisses the top of my head softly. "Is everything okay? You seem a little off," he says.

"Yeah, I am okay," I say opting not to tell him about the note that I received. I have been thinking about it since I got it. I don't know who sent it and I don't know how much weight it carries let alone what they mean by dropping the case if I know what's best for me. I don't want to tell Joe because I know he will flip out over it he is already upset that I am defending a dangerous client. I am saved just as the nurse comes out and calls me back. Joe stands up before me and takes my hand. I stand up with him and we walk to the back together hand in hand.

When we get back to the room I was asked to pee in a cup which I did so they can check my urine for proteins to make sure I don't have a high content which is a sign of pre-eclampsia and my blood pressure is pretty level considering what I am dealing with at work. I'm thankful for that. I change into a gown while we wait on the doctor to come into the room. "This room is probably one of the most comfortable rooms I have ever seen," says Joe as he looks around. "No wonder they are considered the best."

"Tell me about it," I say sitting on the table looking around the room that's painted in a calming light blue with pictures of women uteruses around the room, a conception poster and on the ceiling a picture of puppies to give a calming effect I assume. Even the chair Joe is sitting in looks comfortable. There is a knock on the door. "Come in," I say.

The door opens and Dr. Singh comes into the room holding my chart in his hands. "Hello, Audrey," he says with a smile.

"Hello, Dr. Singh," I say with a soft smile. "I want you to meet the babies' father Joe. He was able to make it this time."

"It's nice to meet you," he says shaking Joe's hand.

"Nice to meet you too."

"So Audrey, how have you been feeling?" he asks. "Any morning sickness?"

"No everything has been replaced with other feelings and cravings," I smile looking at Joe who knows the other feelings I am talking about. My sex drive has been increasing over the last couple weeks. I am a sexual person in general but I feel like my need for sex and satisfaction is a thousand times worse than before. He gives me a knowing smile with a nod.

"Let me guess," says Dr. Singh. "You're more interested in sex?"

"Yes," I say blushing.

"And that's absolutely normal to feel," he says, "enjoy it before the tiredness of the 3rd trimester begins."

"We will," says Joe as he holds my hand stroking my knuckles with his thumb.

"So what we're going to do today is we're going to listen to their heartbeats and then I am going to do the NT Scan which is a scan to determine if there are any chromosomal abnormalities or see if there is a risk for any chromosomal abnormalities."

"Okay," I say before he instructs me to lay back on the bed.

He lifts my gown exposing my private area since I took my underwear off when I put the gown on. He gets the Doppler and looks at Joe, "Dad, would you like to find their heartbeats?" he asks.

"Can I?" I asks Joe.

"Sure," he says, "just take the wand over her stomach till you hear their little heartbeats."

"Okay," says Joe with a smile as he takes the Doppler from Dr. Singh. Nervously he places it onto my stomach rolling it around trying to find the heartbeats. Dr. Singh helps him by pushing down a little harder to find it. "I don't want to hurt her or the babies," he says.

"It's okay I promise there is so much padding there to protect the babies from being hurt by a tiny push now if she was kicked or punched in the stomach I would say then it could hurt the babies but you're not."

"Okay," says Joe as he pushes harder onto my stomach moving the Doppler around. He stops as we hear the soft but beautiful pulsing sounds. "Is that?" he asks.

"Those are their heartbeats," he says. "Very strong and healthy heartbeats."

"That's a beautiful sound," says Joe as I see the tears forming in his eyes as the tears form in my eyes. It's the first time I am hearing their heartbeats too. I'm actually carrying two lives inside of me. Joe leans down and kisses my lips softly.

We listen to their heartbeats for a few more minutes as Joe holds my hand with his free hand as we enjoy the soft sound of the lives we created before Dr. Singh prepares me for my ultrasound. Joe stays standing next to me while Dr. Singh turns on the ultrasound machine. He prepares the Doppler to be inserted into my vagina to get an accurate reading and a better look at the babies. I squeeze Joe's hand as it is inserted into me. Dr. Singh moves it around a couple times before he says, "and there they are," he says making me smile. They look so much bigger than they did before.

"Wow," says Joe with tears in his eyes. "They grew so much they look like an actual baby now."

"No more alien looking babies," I smile, "they look so cute and I am pretty sure they are going to have the Romano family nose," I point out how prominent their noses are.

Joe lets out a laugh and says, "yeah they are. At least it's a cute nose."

"I could disagree," I say with a smile. "They're so cute look at them," I say as they are on the screen. They are moving around a lot and it looks like one is sucking their thumb already and their little lips are puckered out. "And it looks like they will have your mouth. Are their lips supposed to be that puckered at 12 weeks?"

"Not that prominent and noticeable but it's possible," says Dr. Singh, "so far I would say that they are looking pretty good. They have a strong nasal bone and I don't see extra fluid so I would say your babies are 100% healthy with 0 chances of having a chromosomal abnormality," he says as he shows us the rest of their bodies.

"That's good though," I say, "and I am thankful for that."

"I feel so blessed," says Joe with a proud smile. "We got lucky, Audrey."

"We did," I say with a smile as I look up at him with so much love and admiration with the fact we are going to be parents together. I never would have thought or imagined such a possibility but here we are.

"And there are their bellies," says Dr. Singh, "and their legs and their feet but don't quote me but I am pretty sure they're both boys but we will know for sure at your anatomy scan."

"What makes you say you think they are both b.." I ask as I look at the screen and Baby A is not hiding his boy parts it seems and I know it is NOT a thumb or a toe. It's definitely a penis clear as day on the screen. "Well, the blood test did say we were having boys isn't that accurate enough?"

"If not," says Joe, "I think that's pretty accurate," he says pointing to the screen with amusement in his eyes and voice.

"I'd say he's not shy at all," I say before we laugh together.

After our appointment we walk out to Joe's car so he can take me back to the office so I can finish out my day. "I have to say I think the blood test was right," he says holding my hand.

"What would have been your first guess? Our children are so well defined if that's the word I am looking for. They have a prominent nose and prominent lips and they even have a penis. I never imagined a baby to look so developed at 12 weeks."

"I don't know I never did this," he says, "but that penis was definitely out there. There was no thumb or toe there that was strictly penis."

I let out a small chuckle and say, "he is our child for sure."

"I don't argue with it there," he says, "so have you thought of any names for them?"

"Just one," I say. "The Italian name of course, I like the name Luca for one of them. Luca Giovani but I also like Angelo Giovani for a boy too."

"I'm quite fond of both of those names," he says. "We have time to figure it out though. I was thinking about Maui," he says.

"Like in the Demigod from Moana?" I ask with amusement.

"Maui is a Demigod to the Polynesian people," he returns.

"But he was a trickster do you want to give our son a trickster name? I like it don't get me wrong but I don't think it's for our son."

"All right," he says. "Do we have to do this Polynesian name stuff for the first name? I know we want to honor both cultures but I even dislike my first name so much I don't go by it."

"Leati," I say with a smile shaking my head. "You did always hate that name."

"Most Polynesian names are hard to pronounce but there is always some specific meaning to them. We could give him a Polynesian middle name instead. I don't know Audrey. I like a few names like Koa and Toa but my nephew is Koa. I need something else."

"We don't have to do either Polynesian or Italian names," I say, "we can name our sons whatever we want and what we like we don't have to honor our cultures in naming our sons. We choose their names based on what we like," I say. "We are the ones that created them and we are the ones that are going to be calling their names more than anyone. I honestly don't want a mouthful to call our children because we know they are going to need their full name a few times. I say we go back to the drawing board and just pick names that we do like," I say.

"I agree," he says with a smile. "You sure you have to go back to work this afternoon?"

"I'm sure. Do I want to? Not really but I do need to work on this case. I have to meet with a couple witnesses to make sure they are willing to testify."

"I still disagree with this whole thing. It's not safe for you or the babies, Audrey. You need to be sensible about this," he says placing his hand on my knee. "I know it's a big case but other non-dangerous cases will come along you don't need this one for your safety and the safety of the boys. If something would happen to you," he says pulling up in front of my office. "I don't know what I would do."

"Nothing is going to happen to me, I promise," I say with a soft smile. "You don't have to worry about me or the boys okay?"

He lets out a deep breath and says, "Yeah I'll trust you on this one but it doesn't make me happy, Audrey."

"I know but everything is going to be all right," I say before I kiss his lips. "I promise." He nods at me and kisses my lips softly once more before he parks the car. He gets out and comes to my side of the car opening my door for me. "I'll be home around 7."

"All right," he says with a smile. "I look forward to it."

"Me too," I smile as I look into his brown eyes. "It's been a really long time so I would catch up on some sleep."

"So demanding, Ms. Romano," he says playfully.

"You love it," I smile.

"I do and I love you," he says before we share a soft kiss. I reluctantly pull away and smile at him before I make my way into the building before he gets back into the car and drives off as I make my way to the elevator but I feel uneasy with the note's words playing in my mind. Maybe I should give up the case but Ramirez is trusting me to get the job done. I don't know what to do I have worked so hard to prove his innocence but is it worth the threat of my life and the babies' lives. They don't prepare you for this stuff in law school that's for sure.

 ***A/n: What did you think? Please review and please feel free to give name suggestions for the babies. Thank-you for reading.**


	14. Chapter 14

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

 **AUDREY:**

I pace around my office when I return back to work after my ultrasound appointment, I look over the note I received before I left the courthouse this morning. It's clearly a threat against me if I continue on with the case. I place my hand over my growing stomach. I think about what I want to do and what I need to do. Over the last couple weeks I have worked hard on the case, finding new witnesses willing to testify on Ramirez's behalf or immunity for their own crimes. I know that I can get Ramirez off but the problem is getting him off as innocent then I infuriate an entire gang which doesn't bode well for me in the end. I take a deep breath before I open my office door and make my way to Peterson's office so I can talk to him about dropping the case for my safety and the safety of my babies. I let out a breath as I knock on his office door. "COME IN!" He barks. I turn the knob and walk into his office. He looks up from his computer and says, "Romano, what can I do for you? How is the Ramirez case coming?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," I say.

"Come in and have a seat, we'll talk," he says. I walk in and take a seat in the chair in front of his desk. "So what's going on with the Ramirez case?" he asks.

"I think I want to give it up. It's a really big case but it's also a very dangerous case. I am not trying to upset any gang members or putting my family in danger," I explain. "I got a note today at the courthouse."

"What kind of note?" he asks.

"A note telling me to drop the case if I know what's best for me," I answer.

"I see," he says, "but it wasn't a threat?"

"It seems like a threat to me," I say. "I want off the case," I say. "It's too dangerous for me and for my babies. I don't want to put myself or my family in any danger. I researched this gang and they are no joke. I'm not willing and don't want to put myself or my family in danger."

"Audrey," he begins. "Do you think you're going to make partner by dropping cases because they are too dangerous?" he asks. "A lot of cases are dangerous it is what we do. No one ever said being a lawyer is an easy job. We get the hard cases, we have to defend those that we don't want to. It's never really a safe career no matter what kind of case you choose to defend. If you drop the case you're going to upset Ramirez and he's going to feel betrayed therefore putting yourself in more danger," he explains and I never thought of that. I am in danger no matter what I choose to do.

"So you're telling me if I drop the case I am in danger either way?" I ask.

"Yes, Audrey," he says. "You'll be in danger no matter which you choose to do," he answers.

"I'm starting to feel like I don't want to be partner," I say.

"You don't have any interest in being partner?" he asks.

"No," I say truthfully. "I'm going to be a mother in August. I'm going to have twin boys I already work a heavy workload and dedicate most of my life to this job if I become partner that's even more time and more time away from my family. I didn't go through what I did to have someone else raise my children," I say. "I don't want to be partner and after I have my boys I plan to cut back to part time until they are old enough to go to Kindergarten."

"Audrey," he says, "are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"I'm positive," I say. "That's exactly what I want to do. I didn't give all this money to not raise my children."

"I never thought I would hear those words," he says with shock, "but are you dropping the case."

"No, I'm not dropping the case, it's dangerous either way. And I already put a lot of work into the case so I am not going to drop it. I just want to have safety measures put into place for myself and my family."

"That can be arranged," he says with a smile. I know it's foolish to continue on with a dangerous case like this but no matter what it's going to be dangerous either way. I am just going to enlist someone to keep me safe and stand guard to make sure nothing goes array.

"One more thing, I want 12 weeks off for maternity leave," I say.

"12 weeks?" he asks.

"12 weeks and it's non-negotiable. I'm taking 12 weeks and returning back at a part-time status."

"Okay, I guess you should start filling out your FMLA papers then as soon as possible. That's a long time off work."

"It's a long time and enough time for me to bond with my sons," I say, "and after doing this case I deserve the 12 weeks."

"I'm not arguing with you, Audrey. I just thought that you would be my partner someday."

"I'm sorry but I don't want to be a partner, I want to be a mother which is what I'm going to be. If I have to choose between this job and my sons; my sons are going to win every time."

"I understand," he says with a nod but I am not sure if he truly understands or not. I stand up. "Maybe you should think it over," he says.

"Mr. Peterson, I have nothing to think over. I know what I want to do," I say before I make my way out of his office. I spend the rest of my day working on the Ramirez case as well as prepping for other cases when my phone rings. "Audrey Romano," I say into the telephone to my office.

"You're not going to inform me that my husband is in jail?" asks the angry woman voice on the phone and I roll my eyes knowing that it's Zandra.

"Hello to you too, Zandra," I say. "You were on my list but I didn't know how I was supposed to address you."

"You call me and tell me my husband went to jail on a DWI charge," she says.

"Your ex-husband you mean," I say. "And yes he is in jail for 9 months. He took a deal and that was what he was given."

"It seems like a lot for his first offense."

"It does but he took the deal he will be there for 9 months but I am glad you decided to give me a call. I have sent some paperwork to you that you should be receiving in a few days. Please read it over and get back to me. I would really like to have this settled outside of court rather than in a courtroom," I say.

"You think I am going to allow my children around their alcoholic father and his mistress?" she asks. "They don't need to be tainted by his nonsense and poor decisions."

"See, Zandra, as their biological father he has rights to his children. He has the right to be in their lives unless he has done something to hurt them. Even murderers and rapists have rights to see their children as long as they did not hurt them in any way or hurt another child in any way. He loves those girls you know it and I know it. Keeping them from him is not legal and not only that you're denying his rights as a father. You can settle this in court where you could get what you don't want or we can settle this out of court where you, Scott, your lawyer and me can come up with a mutual agreement for your children."

"The law is only okay when it suits you isn't it?" asks Zandra. "I guess it doesn't matter that you are sleeping with my husband and are his legal counsel. I thought there were laws against that?"

"There is nothing illegal about an attorney client sexual relationship however it does go against ethics luckily for you Scott and I are no longer involved so the question of ethics doesn't play a role here. I am simply an attorney fighting for my client's rights to his children to get a fair share of custody and responsibility bestowed upon him."

"And you expect everyone to believe that your child is not Scott's child. I hardly believe for one minute that Scott is not the father of your child," she says, "therefore you have a conflict of interest. You can't be objective."

"I'm 100% sure that Scott is not the father of my children. I have always taken birth control with Scott and any other guy that I had slept with. It was not until I was artificially inseminated that I became pregnant with my boyfriend's children. And Zandra, don't EVER bring my children into something like this again. This isn't about MY children it is about YOUR children. Like I said, I sent some paperwork out to you. Please get back to me after you receive it. You obviously already have my number."

"Audrey, you are not going to win here. Scott can't even take care of himself let alone his kids look where he is right now. Look at the decisions he has made. He is not capable of being a father. He never was, never will be," she says before she hangs up the phone. I slam the phone down on the receiver and get back to work.

 **ROMAN:**

"Hey, Mom," I say answering my cellphone as I take mine and Audrey's dinner out of the oven as I wait for her to get home from work.

"Hey, Sweetheart," she says making me smile. "How's everything going with you and Audrey?"

"Wonderful," I smile as I look at the casserole I made for dinner. I'm not really skilled in the kitchen but I tried to make something special for Audrey for our first Valentine's Day together. I won't be home for Valentine's Day so I want to celebrate with her before I go back out on the road.

"That's great. We are all so happy that y'all got together. When are you going to propose to her?" she asks.

"I think it's too early to talk about proposing," I say with a smile even though I would love to propose to Audrey, make her my wife someday but Audrey is not the type of woman that wants marriage or the commitment of marriage, having a boyfriend and kids is more than enough commitment for her at least for now.

"It isn't like you two haven't known each other most of your lives so it's never too early to start thinking about it."

"Mom, I don't think Audrey wants that. I think she is new to this whole life of being a girlfriend and becoming a mother. I don't think she is ready to want to be a wife yet maybe after the boys are born we will discuss it but right now I think we'll avoid the engagement talk."

"You two make such a cute couple and the love you have for each other," she says making me smile as I set the dining room table for a dinner for two with two candles and plates as well as wine glasses for the sparkling cider. "I would love to see you two marry someday."

"Maybe someday," I say setting the places for us. "We had an ultrasound today."

"How did that go?" she asks.

"It went well," I smile. "The boys look healthy and one of them was not hiding the fact he was a boy from us." She laughs out loud making me smile even more. "Nothing shy about him."

"There was nothing shy about you either," she says as I feel my face heat. "Your father and me knew that you were a boy right away. You were not hiding your boy's parts from us."

"Then I guess he gets it from me. They have Audrey's nose. We can already tell that and possibly my mouth. I can't wait to see what they look like."

"Neither can I," she says. "Have you and Audrey came up with any names for the babies?"

"We're back to the drawing board," I say as I hear the front door open and close to our apartment letting me know that Audrey is home. "We were trying to do one Italian name and one Polynesian name for them," I say as Audrey walks into the dining room to see me making our night together special. "But we decided just to use names that we like," I say with a smile.

"That sounds like a good idea," she says as my eyes meet Audrey's and I can tell it has been a day as she walks into my open arms and hugs me tightly as I wrap my free arm around her. I kiss the top of her head as I comfort her as my mother talks. "You know Matthew is a good name for one of them or something with the name Matthew in it in honor of your brother."

"Mom, I have to go but I will take that into consideration. Have a good night."

"You too," she says with a knowing tone before we hang up.

"Hey, Beautiful," I say wrapping my other arm around her, holding her close to me as I take in her scent. "Long day? Rough day?"

"A terrible day," she says as she looks up at me. "It smells good in here."

"I made us dinner," I smile down at her before I capture her lips with mine, kissing away the traces of a rough day.

She smiles at me after our soft kiss and says, "you cooked dinner? What do I owe that pleasure?"

"I thought we could celebrate Valentine's Day a little early since I won't be here to celebrate with you"

"You know I hate Valentine's Day and I'm not into that romance one day of a year type of thing," she says.

"I know but can we just make tonight special for us?" I ask as I stroke her back softly as she looks at me with so much love and admiration in her eyes. I can't get enough of her. I love her more than any words could ever say.

"Yes," she smiles. "I would like that. What did you make for dinner?"

"I tried my best at making your mom's pizza casserole. I hope I did a good job. I mean she gave me the recipe so hopefully it turned out well."

"It smells like it did," she says as she rubs my chest softly. "I think you're just trying to get laid."

I let out a soft chuckle, "last time I checked my girlfriend was a woman of high passions so I don't think seducing her with a home cooked meal makes a difference."

"I think you might be right," she smiles. "I'm going to go change. I'll be back. I'm starving."

"All right," I say. "I will get everything ready for us," I smile before I give her a quick kiss on the lips before she walks off to our bedroom to change into something new.

I walk into the kitchen and bring the casserole to the table. I put some onto her plate while I put some onto my plate before I pour each of us a glass of sparkling cider before lighting the two candles on the table and playing soft music. I smile as she comes back into the dining room dressed in a black halter dress that falls just above her knee with a slit showing her toned tan legs but she is barefoot. It matches my grey dress shirt and my black slacks. "You look beautiful," I say as I pull the chair out for her.

"Thank-you," she smiles. "You look pretty good."

"Thanks," I smile before I take my seat. "I hope it's up to your liking."

"We'll find out," she says before she takes a bite of her food. "Mmm, it tastes just like hers. You did a good job, Baby."

I smile before trying my own. "So how was work today?"

"I thought about dropping the Ramirez case but it's dangerous no matter what. I shouldn't' have taken it. It was dangerous from the beginning."

"I've been telling you that. So you're just going to do the case?"

"Yeah as much as I don't want to," she says as I take her hand into mine, stroking her knuckles softly. "What would you think if after I had the boys I didn't go back to work?"

"You're not going back to work after you have the boys? You love your job," I say.

"I know I love my job but I was just thinking about it. What if I love the boys so much I don't even want to go back to work and work part-time? I have always worked at the firm to become partner but I never want to be partner now so is there a point of me sticking to the law firm after the boys are born besides I want to spend a lot of time with my boys," she says making me smile.

"I think you should do whatever you think is right," I say. "If you don't want to go back you don't have to go back. I make more than enough money to support us if you choose not to go back to work."

I take a sip of my sparkling cider before she says, "that would matter if we were married but we aren't," she says. "I can't ask that you support me if we aren't married." I choke on the cider at her bringing up marriage. "Are you okay?" she asks with concern.

"You were talking about marriage," I say.

"Yes," she says with a smile. "Marriage between us is inevitable. It's going to happen someday we just don't know when. I was actually of thinking about opening my own Romano's up here in New York City or maybe possibly moving back to Florida but I really love the city I don't want to leave it. I have all these ideas to raise the boys here in New York. I don't know. I'm thinking about leaving the law firm, just don't know what I want to do instead and I can't depend on you to support us."

"Audrey," I smile, "are you saying if I asked you to marry me that you would say yes?"

"If you asked me when the time was right," she says giving me a little bit of hope. "So what do you think? Should I leave the firm?"

"Like I said it is up to you and I will support you in whatever you choose to do, Audrey. I know how much you love your job and I would hate to see you leave it but I would also not like to see you unhappy. You just have to do what makes you happy," I smile.

"Fair enough," she smiles. "I love you."

"I love you too," I smile back at her before I lean over and kiss her lips softly, kissing her full of promises that I want nothing more than to make her happy and to keep her happy allowing her to know that I will support her no matter what she chooses to do after we have our boys. I personally think in the last few months since she chose this path it has changed her not in a bad way but a good way bringing her back to her family, her roots and the people that love her. I think the boys have and will continue to change her and I hope that I can continue to support her in the changes she makes and help let her know I am not going anywhere.

 ***A/N: What did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	15. Chapter 15

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

 **AUDREY:**

Over the last few weeks Joe has gotten busier with Wrestlemania coming up and doing more media promotions advertising his upcoming match with Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal championship for 4th year in a row of main eventing the biggest show of the year. While he was busying promoting and doing media works I was busy working on the Ramirez case and thinking about my decision for what will happen after I have the boys. We have barely seen each other as I boarded the plane to go to New Orleans where I would be meeting him for the biggest weekend of his career, the biggest weekend of the year. I was meeting up with his family as well so I could spend time with them while he is busy promoting and doing appearances. I don't really spend much time with his family but I am looking forward to spending some of my weekend with the ones he loves.

I arrive in New Orleans early Friday afternoon and I meet up with Joe's dad Sika and his Mom Monica. "Audrey," says Monica with a smile as she greets me with a hug.

"Hello, Monica," I say hugging her back. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she says, "how are you doing? How are the boys doing?"

"I'm doing good," I say with a smile, "the boys are doing great as healthy as can be. They are keeping me hungry."

Sika laughs and says, "that's their father's family in them." He greets me with a hug as I laugh with him.

"I think so and their Italian ancestors as well," I smile. "Is Joe meeting us at the hotel?"

"I believe so," says Monica.

"All right, I have so much I need to get ready for. I am going to the Hall of Fame Ceremony tonight with Joe."

"You will have plenty of time to get ready," says Monica as we walk to get our luggage. Sika offers to carry my bags for me since I'm pregnant and he doesn't want me to carry them. I thank him as we walk to the car waiting for us to take us to the hotel to meet Joe. "Have you and Joe thought of names for the babies yet?" she asks me as we are on our way to the hotel.

"Joe and I have not really seen much of each other we've been busy with work so we haven't really had time to sit down and come up with baby names. I haven't even really thought about it to be honest. I guess in a couple weeks we'll sit down and go over everything with the babies like the nursery and some other stuff we need to discuss."

"What other stuff?" she asks with a smile.

"Just work things. I want to talk to him about my decision about work and what I want to do after the boys are born."

"Are you going back to work after you have them?" she asks.

"I'm not sure yet if I do go back it will be a part time thing. I just don't like the idea of having a nanny watching or raising my children while Joe and I are working."

"I understand that but what exactly is part time in a law firm?" she asks.

"It's pretty much working 2-3 days a week for a lot less hours and not taking such time consuming cases," I answer her.

"I see," she says with a nod. "Are you two getting excited about the babies?"

"I am pretty excited. I can't wait until August to meet them but I'm also a little scared. I haven't done this before. What if I am not the best mom there is and I screw up this mom thing?"

"Audrey, you are going to be a great mother," she smiles as she pats my hand. "And you are definitely showing now," she says as she touches my small stomach. I can't hide it anymore. I definitely have my baby bump and it has gotten so much bigger in the last few weeks. I smile as she rubs my stomach. "Do you and Joe plan to get married after you have the boys?"

"Monica," says Sika. "I'm sorry, Audrey she and your mother have been planning your wedding already even though neither you nor Joe have said you were going to marry."

"I figured as much," I smile. "I don't know the answer to that question," I say. "Have we talked about marriage? Not too much. Right now we are just focused on the babies and our jobs. If marriage happens it won't be for a while. I am new to this whole commitment life."

"You two are such a beautiful couple and I can see you two having two beautiful babies," she says with a smile. "I bet you Joe asks you to marry him soon," she says and I think about how maybe I don't want Joe to ask me to marry him. I hate that there is some written rule somewhere that it has to be the man to propose to the woman. If I am one thing it's unconventional which is why I am just now 32 with my first boyfriend and pregnant through artificial insemination. I don't think a typical marriage proposal would be ideal for me. I like life the way it is right now.

"Thank-you," I say with a smile before changing the subject. "Are you excited for Joe's match on Sunday? I'm excited it's my first time at Mania and I'm just excited for him."

"I hope it goes better for him than it did a couple years ago when he faced Brock at Mania and Seth cashed in on him and he walked out empty handed after getting beat up in the ring. I get excited for Joe but I can't stomach to watch him wrestle."

"Monica does spend a lot of time covering her eyes during his matches," says Sika with a smile.

"He's my baby boy! I hate seeing him get whipped around that ring. You would think I would be used to it by now but seeing Joe get thrown around the ring is hard to watch for me."

"I know," I say. "I feel the same way. I feel the exact same way about it. I am probably going to close my eyes a lot of times on Sunday too," I smile.

"Me too," says Monica.

When we arrive at the hotel the WWE Superstars are staying at for the weekend it isn't what I expected. There are crowds of fans gathered blocked off from entering the hotel but standing on each side of the entrance. It's a pretty crazy atmosphere considering I live in New York City. I smile as I see Joe step out of the hotel's main entrance. "Hey," he says greeting me with a soft kiss on the lips. "You made it."

"We're here," I smile as he wraps his arm around my shoulder after he greets his mom and dad with a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. "This is crazy," I gesture toward the crowd as they are yelling for Joe to sign autographs and to take pictures. "I didn't know it was anything like this."

"This is nothing," he says with a smile, "so how was your flights?" he asks.

"Good," I smile.

"It was good," says Monica. "I'm hungry though. I was thinking that once we get everything settle into our hotel rooms that we could go out for lunch together."

"Actually," says Joe as I look up at him as I wrap my arm around his waist. "I was thinking about Audrey and I spending the afternoon together before we go to the Hall of Fame ceremony. I haven't seen her for a while."

"We understand," says Monica with a smile. "You two enjoy your afternoon together. We'll meet up with your sisters and have lunch with them."

"Thank-you," says Joe with a smile before he kisses my temple. "But we can do a family dinner tonight after the ceremony or before. I just need some time with my girl."

"Sounds good," says his mom with a smile.

Joe and his dad helped carry the luggage up to his parents' room and then Joe carried my luggage to our room. I was amazed when I walked into the hotel room to see that he had already ordered us lunch that was being kept warm by the covered metal pans. He gave me a quick tour of our suite before we sat down on the patio overlooking New Orleans to eat our lunch together. "They spared no expense," I smile as we eat together.

"Yeah, I guess these are the perks to headlining Wrestlemania for the 4th year in a row. I missed you."

"I missed you too," I smile. "Have you found out if you're winning the championship on Sunday or not?"

"I don't know yet. I won't know until Sunday morning. It's Vince's final decision. I almost prefer not to have it but it's not my decision."

"I see," I nod. "I am going to support you no matter what happens on Sunday night."

"Thanks, Baby Girl," he says with a smile. "So how is work? How is everything going with that case?"

"Busy in fact I need to take a red eye out of here after Mania so that I can get back to work on Monday. The Ramirez trial begins Wednesday so I need a couple days to get everything together. I have a good feeling about it."

"It's still dangerous," he says.

"I know, Baby but after this I am done with the dangerous cases. I still haven't decided what I want to do when the babies come. I know I am definitely using FMLA to take 12 weeks just in case I go back my job will still be there and legally they can't fire me. I know for sure if I go back I am doing part time it's just deciding if I want to go back."

"Like I said that's up to you and what you choose. It doesn't matter to me what you choose. I am going to be here no matter what you choose."

"Thanks," I smile, "so your mom was asking me questions."

"What kind of questions? Or don't I want to know?" He asks with a smile before taking a sip of his water.

"Well, let's see," I smile back. "First it was marriage and then it was about what we were naming the boys."

"You didn't tell her that we had boy names picked out did you? Or tell her them?"

"No I didn't. I said we haven't had much time to talk about it with us both being so busy with work."

"Okay," he says. We decided to keep our baby names a secret from everyone. It's not that we don't want to tell people it's that we don't want the negative comments about the names we have chosen. We chose them because we like them and we want to wait until they are born to tell everyone their names. "And how do you feel about her asking you about marriage?"

"I don't know," I say honestly, "I know it's going to happen someday I'm just not ready for it to happen now."

"I understand that," he says. "I totally get it," he says, "I'm not ready for marriage either."

"It's so funny because we are having babies and yet neither of us is ready for the commitment of marriage," I say with amusement. "I think we did that in reverse order."

"You don't have to be married to be parents," he says. "We'll get there. I just want to enjoy this relationship with you the way it is now and then maybe down the road we'll talk about getting married maybe having more kids but right now I don't think we really need a marriage it's inevitable but it's not time for it yet."

"I agree," I smile. "Let's just focus on bringing M and J into the world then we'll worry about marriage."

"Deal," he says with a smile.

After we have lunch I walk into the suite's bedroom and pull out my dress for the Hall Of Fame Ceremony. I lay it on the bed looking at the custom made yellow lace off the shoulder dress decorated with embroidery I feel like yellow is a brave choice but it's unique compared to the other dresses the other wives, fiances and girlfriends will be wearing. This is mine and Joe's first public event together as a couple and I want to look the best I can at 5 months pregnant. I smile as I feel his arms wrap around my waist. "Yellow, I like it," he says with a smile against my temple before kissing it softly. "It has a beauty and the beast feel to it," he says.

"I wasn't really going for that look," I smile, "but if you want to think that way then okay."

"You're my beauty and I'm your beast," he says.

"You're hardly a beast," I say with a smile as he places his hand on my small baby bump. "Besides I was going for something conservative, not too revealing but still sexy."

"It's definitely sexy," he says. "So do you need time to prepare for tonight? You need to get your hair done? Nails done?"

"Neither, I had my manicure done before I came here," I say showing him my French manicured nails, "and I was thinking about just straightening my hair nothing special," I say.

"You don't want to do your hair in a bun or updo?" he asks.

"I hate buns and ponytails," I say.

"Why?" he asks as he takes his hand up my bared arms and finds my neck, massaging it softly. "You have a beautiful neck that I love," he says before kissing my neck softly, nibbling on it softly. I let out a soft moan offering my neck to him. "It's so soft and you have the most beautiful beauty mark on your collarbone," he breathes onto my neck.

"I just don't like how my ears look with a ponytail or a bun. I try to keep them covered the best that I can."

"Nothing wrong with your ears, Audrey," he smiles against my neck. "Everything about you is perfection don't be so self-conscious," he says making me smile.

"I'm going to a red carpet event with Roman Reigns and attending a Hall of Ceremony with you. I need to look perfect," I say.

"You're already perfect to me," he says before turning me around to face him. "Don't worry about what those people think, worry about what I think, worry about what you think. I think you're beautiful and perfect no matter how you dress and how you do your hair," he says making me smile. "I love you, Audrey, ALL of you, imperfection, perfection all of you."

"I love you too," I say with a smile before he leans down and kisses my lips softly as I wrap my arms around his neck. His hand rests against the small of my back as he pulls me closer to him, deepening our soft kiss. "You know it's been a couple of weeks," I smile against his lips.

"You know maybe it's better you don't have to do all that prep work for tonight it gives us some time. We don't have to meet up with my parents and sisters until around 5. We have a couple hours to kill," he smiles. "I think we should use them wisely."

"You know, I was never one to waste time and always use my time wisely. I would hate to waste these next couple hours."

"Me too," he says with a smile before kissing me again. He breaks the kiss long enough to carefully remove my dress and put it in a safe spot so we can use the bed. We spend the next couple hours making love in the bed before making love in the shower before we wash each other up before we prepare for our evening together.

I finish getting myself ready in my yellow dress and admire myself in the mirror. It fits perfectly over my baby bump and I hardly look pregnant except for the cleavage I am displaying from my larger breasts but it's not wildly inappropriate to the point of a wardrobe malfunction. I decide to braid my hair off to the side exposing my neck to Joe's pleasure and accent the dress with diamond chandelier earrings with a diamond necklace around my neck. I put on just enough make up to bring out my natural features before putting on my pale yellow rhinestone stilettos. I grab my matching yellow clutch before I make my way out of the bedroom to find Joe standing in the living room of the suite dressed in a black tux, pale yellow vest, yellow tie and white button down shirt with black loafers and his hair tied back perfectly into a bun. "Wow," I say my breath caught looking at him all dressed up. "You look scrumptious," I say with a smile.

He lets out a small laugh that I love and says, "Scrumptious? Did you not have enough of me this afternoon?"

"Never enough," I say with a smile. "You look so good in that tux, I can't wait to take it off of you later."

"I can't wait to get you out of that dress," he says with a smile. "I'll be thinking about it all night."

"Fiend," I joke.

"Ah, I need to be a fiend my girlfriend is a woman of high passions, it helps to satisfy her. You look beautiful, Audrey."

"Thank-you," I smile softly. "But I am nervous. This is my first red carpet event and I am scared I am going to trip or screw up. What if they ask me something? What do I say?"

"Just answer the question, you'll be fine. I promise," he says. "They may ask you how you feel about Sunday or they may not ask you anything at all."

"I hope nothing at all," I say with a smile. "That's easiest for me."

"You will be all right," he says with a smile before he kisses my lips softly. "You ready to go?"

"Let's take a picture first for my Instagram," I say because it's not every day my boyfriend is so dressed up in a tuxedo. I know Joe is not one to dress up he prefers comfort over fashion except when it comes to shoes but he is not one to wear tuxedos very often and I want to savor this memory forever. He agrees and I snap a selfie of us both together before posting it on Instagram before we meet up with his family to enjoy a family dinner together.

The entire night is like a whirlwind from having a family dinner on the French Quarter to attending the Hall of Fame Ceremony, walking the red carpet with Joe and taking pictures with him before we were escorted to our seats without either of us being interviewed on the carpet but as we entered the arena the hate was strong for Joe. Every time he was shown on the screen he was booed by the crowd. That night was the last time we got to spend time together before Sunday afternoon as he had appearances at Axxess on Saturday morning to sign autographs and then he had media things to do. I spent the day with his family enjoying New Orleans and enjoying the excitement of Wrestlemania weekend but it also gave me a better opportunity to get to know his family and spend time with them. I love his family a lot and spending time with them as Joe's girlfriend and mother of his children is different than spending time with them when I am just his best friend.

I arrive at the arena earlier than everyone on Sunday to get a couple hours in with Joe before we are separated again. I walk into the backstage area showing the security guard my backstage pass before I am greeted by my man. "Hey, Baby Girl," he says with a smile dressed in a t-shirt and basketball shorts with his hair pulled up in a messy bun and freshly shaven for the night.

"Hey, Baby," I say with a smile before we share a soft kiss. "You excited for tonight?"

"I'm running on adrenaline baby," he says with a smile. "Come with me," he says leading me through the backstage area and out into the stadium to the higher up seats. We take a seat in a row of seats overlooking the ring and the setup for the night. "I talked to Vince," he says as he holds my hand, linking our fingers together.

"And?" I ask as he places his other hand on my stomach. "Was it good news or bad news?"

"I'm not sure, Audrey. You ever want something so much in life but then you wonder do I really need it in my life?" he asks as he rubs my stomach.

"I'm not sure what you're saying," I say as I look at him.

He lets out a soft deep breath and says, "you know you think you want or need something so bad in life but it turns out it's not that one thing you wanted that makes you the happiest? And you realize it isn't what you truly needed or wanted all along?"

"Yeah sort of," I say, "are you trying to break up with me?" I ask curiously because that's the vibe I am picking up on.

"Oh my God no, Audrey, I'm planning on marrying you someday," he says with a smile. "I'm not breaking up with you."

"Okay so what are you talking about, is it the boys? Are you not ready to be a father?" I ask.

"Geez, Audrey, no.. you and the boys are everything to me," he says. "I can't wait to be a father. I can't wait until August," he says. "I'm talking about the championship."

"Are you winning it tonight?" I ask feeling excited for him to win the championship he's been chasing for a year or so now.

"No," he says, "I'm not winning it. They are keeping it on Lesnar," he says. "I thought I wanted it but when Vince told me I wasn't getting it I was kind of happy about it. Normally I would be disappointed but I wasn't I was happy to not get it because it means more travel time, more media, more appearances more time away from you and we have two babies to prepare for," he says. "I don't have time to be the champion and I am okay with that because I have something better, something bigger," he smiles. "I have you and I have M and J," he says making me smile, melting my heart as my pregnancy hormones cause the tears to form in my eyes.

"Joe," I say looking at him. "I love you so much," I say.

"I love you too," he says with a smile before he kisses my lips softly as I cup his cheek as he keeps his hand on my stomach and our hands linked together. He breaks the kiss and lifts up my Roman Reigns t-shirt exposing my small bump. He places his plump lips on my stomach kissing it softly. Before I hear his voice start talking to the boys. "Hey M and J, I am your daddy," he says making me smile. "I'm so excited to meet you, I can't wait to meet you. I bet you look like your mama. I am okay with that because you're going to be beautiful. I hope I can be the best dad to you that the world has ever seen. I promise that your mama and I are going to give you two the world and give you the best life we can. I pray for you every day. I pray for you both to be healthy and happy babies. I know your mama is going to be great for you and be the best mama in the world but I hope I can be half the father my dad was to me to you two. I hope that you both love like your Mama and have her beautiful heart. We are going to do everything we can for you so that you're happy. You already have a lot of people that love you. You are going to be so loved. I never knew I could love something so much before I get a chance to meet you. I love you both so much and everything I do and will do is for you. I promise I am always going to be there for you no matter what and hopefully I can be the best dad for you but promise me one thing," he says as I feel the flutters in my stomach and the tears burn my eyes. "Promise me you won't grow up so fast give us the time to enjoy both of you." He says and I feel the tears run down my cheeks as I feel our creations moving within my womb. He kisses my stomach before putting my shirt down.

"Joe," I say, "that was beautiful. I love you."

"I love you too," he says kissing me softly.

"The boys liked it too, they were moving up a storm, they're still moving," I say with a smile as I place my hand over his on my stomach. "It's the most beautiful thing in life."

"It is beautiful," he says with a heart melting smile. "I can't wait until I can feel them move and I can't wait until we can meet them. Let's start baby shopping this week."

"Don't you think we should wait until the baby shower then go shopping?"

"We could go start a registry," he says, "and maybe pick out some bedding for the boys to start the nursery."

"You are excited," I smile.

"I am," he says. "Excited to have these beautiful boys with you, M and J don't have an idea how loved they are already."

"I know," I say with a smile. "I'm ready to be a family. I can't believe I waited this long to find this happiness."

"Me either," he says before kissing my lips again before we overlook the set for Mania enjoying the quiet before the craziness of the night begins.

 ***A/N: What did you think? Any guesses on what the boys' names could be? What did you think of Joe talking to the boys? Are you glad they are waiting till later to get married realizing neither of them are ready for marriage? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	16. Chapter 16

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much***

 **AUDREY:**

"What do you think of having a moon and stars themed nursery for the boys?" I ask Joe as we are sitting in the living room while he's watching something on TV and I am searching nursery ideas on Pinterest.

"I just thought we were going to go with a sports theme?" he asks. "You know after our pregnancy announcement photos, I just thought we were going with sports for them."

"Eh I thought about it but that's too cliché and I feel like ALL boys mostly have a sports themed nursery. And you know people are expecting that from us. I thought about just doing something different. I like what can be done with a moon and stars theme. You know like all this Love you to the moon and back. And we can put stars on their walls. I think it would be cute. Besides doing a sports theme seems like we are saying that only boys can like sports and you and I both know that's not true."

"Right," he says. "What color were you thinking for the nursery?"

"I was thinking of painting the walls dark grey and putting silver stars on the wall or maybe even a dark blue but I do want a grey, silver and dark blue theme for the nursery. That's why I think a moon and stars theme would work well with the color scheme."

"I like it," he says, "what are you looking at?" he asks.

"Just checking out Pinterest ideas for the nursery," I say before showing him my tablet, "take a look."

He takes my tablet and scrolls through my pinterest. I watch him as he smiles as he scrolls through. "I mean this isn't bad," he says. "I actually like it and it seems calming but you and I both know that M and J won't be sleeping in their nursery for a couple months at first."

"I know but I have so many ideas for their nursery. I want to do so much for the boys. I was thinking of putting their names on moons over their cribs too, shelves with some of the best children's books, give them an amazing wardrobe of polos and sports jerseys, Nike sneakers, Jordans, Timbs," I say with a smile. "I am so excited for them, Joe. What do you think?"

"I like it. I think it's a good idea. So we're going with this?"

"I think so. Are you ready to go baby shopping tomorrow or at least put some things on our registry for them? I still can't believe we are pregnant and how fast that happened," I say putting my hand on my stomach.

"I thought we would have to try again," he says truthfully and I agree with him the doctor did say that it takes a couple tries for the procedure to actually work.

"Me too but it was the best Christmas present of my life," I smile as I cuddle up next to him on the couch as he wraps his arm around me.

"I agree same for me," he says as we scroll through Pinterest. "Where do you think our baby shower is going to be if we live here in New York and our families live in Florida?"

"I have no idea but my guess is probably in Florida for our families and then we could have one in New York for our City friends," I say. "Our mamas are handling that one. I know it's going to be over the top."

"I'm sure," he says. "They are already planning our wedding," he says making me smile.

"I know," I shake my head. "Baby steps," I say.

"Yeah I think right now we have our hands full with the boys. Are you keeping your cat after the boys are born?"

"I'm not giving him away. I love him," I say. "He is just going to need to adjust to being a big brother. He will be all right it won't be like Lady and The Tramp if that's what you're thinking."

He lets out a laugh and says, "those cats were bad asses always blaming that poor dog for their mischief. I still don't like them."

"The fact you even know Lady And The Tramp intrigues me," I say with a smile. "Who knew your Disney movie knowledge was so good."

"I had two older sisters that watched all those movies but I am telling you right now we are going to have our hands full."

"So I have been told," I smile as I rub his chest. "I think with your hyperactivity and my strong-willed personality our boys are going to so much fun."

"I was pretty hyper there was no calming me down. I'm still surprised you didn't want girls instead of boys."

"I understand boys. I get boys," I say. "I grew up the only girl in my family. Besides mini me's are not a good idea," I say. "We would fight all the time and there would be TWO of them no thank-you. I'm happy with all my boys."

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" he asks me talking about the beginning of the Ramirez trial in the morning, the case I have been preparing for and I have a pretty good chance of getting Ramirez off as long as his witnesses do come through.

"I guess as ready as I am ever going to be. I just hope the witnesses come through. It's a scary situation for them but they have been offered full protection before and after the trial."

"What about you?" he asks. "Are you offered full protection before, during and after the trial? If you're against a gang, get their gang member put into jail you know they are going to come after you. You're not safe," he says.

"I will be all right, we will be okay," I say, "and don't worry the security will be tighter than it can possibly be for the trial tomorrow."

"I hope so," he says as he lays my tablet down and pulls me onto his lap wrapping his arm around my waist. "I'm not ready to live without you."

"And you don't have to," I say with a smile.

"I mean we just started this relationship, we haven't had that much time."

"We're going to have plenty of time. I promise you that, Joe. I promise you that we will have plenty of time."

"I'm holding you to that promise," he smiles. "Audrey, I love you."

"I love you too," I say with a smile as I play with his hair. "Do you think I am going to be a good mom?"

"I think you're a dedicated person," he says and I make a face and he laughs, "you're dedicated, you dedication to our children is what is going to help you be a good mom. I think you're going to be an amazing mom. Our boys are going to be lucky to have you for their mom just like I am lucky to call you mine. Audrey, you'll be a good mom."

"I hope so. I never did this before. I never thought about being a mom before but now I'm kind of scared to be a mom. I don't know if I am ready."

"I think you're ready and you have a few weeks to prepare before they arrive. We can do parenting classes if it makes you feel better because God knows I have no idea how to be a father."

"But you have nieces and nephews you have been involved with, helped change diapers and stuff. I have never really dealt with a baby. I honestly don't know how to change a diaper. I don't know how to make a bottle but that doesn't matter I am planning to breastfeed anyway."

"You're going to breastfeed two Samoan boys at the same time?" he asks with amusement as he strokes my back.

"What's wrong with that?" I ask as I rub his chest. "Breastfeeding is good for babies."

"Do you know how Samoans eat? They are going to be monsters when it comes to eating. You're never going to get any rest if you breastfeed both of them."

"I think it will be fine," I say, "if not then I will pump but I want to give them breastmilk rather than formula."

"Okay," he says with a smile. "Do I get to reap the benefits of breastfeeding?"

"And what are those benefits?" I ask with a smile as he slides his hand up the back of my shirt, stroking my bare skin with his soft fingertips.

"Oh you know, the bigger boobs," he says with a smile. He cups my breast with is free hand and I gasp. "I mean they are pretty big now but if you breast feed they are going to be like hello!"

"Shut up," I say with a smile. "You're such a man."

"Oh are we gender stereotyping now?" he asks with a smile before he kisses my lips softly. "Because you know we don't do that in this apartment."

"You're the one talking about my breasts and reaping the benefits of breastfeeding it is so man of you to do so," I smile before I press my lips against his, kissing him softly.

"I am a pretty big fan of your girls," he smiles at me. "I mean just so you know."

"Oh Baby, I know," I say with a smile. "I think I am ready for bed," I say standing up.

"Bed? It's only 8:30. I'm not tired."

"I'm not tired either," I smile as I help him up by extending my hand to him. He takes my hand and stands up. I pull him into me as he wraps his arms around my waist. I wrap my arms around his neck and reach up and kiss his lips softly, deepening the kiss as I stand on my tippy toes as he takes more of my mouth. "I had other plans for us," I smile breaking the kiss.

"Hmm, I like how that sounds," he smiles. "You know I have to go to Europe in a couple days."

"I know but tonight you're mine," I say with a smile, "and we are going to enjoy our next couple days together to their fullest."

"No complaints here," he says with a smile before I lead him to our bedroom. I kick the door shut behind us and we quickly strip out of our clothes. We spend most of the evening making love to each other before I fall asleep in his arms around midnight, cuddling up with him not wanting to let go.

The next morning I wake up and take a shower before I get ready for work while Joe is out in the kitchen making us breakfast. My nerves are too bad to have breakfast this morning. I have too much on my mind to even focus on breakfast. "You look beautiful today," says Joe as I come into the kitchen putting on my flats with my black skirt and grey blouse.

"Thanks," I say as I take a seat at the table. "I'm really not hungry this morning. I can't eat I'm too nervous."

"You have to at least eat something or try to eat something. You can't go to work without eating."

"If I eat I am going to throw up," I say. "I will get something to eat after court today."

"All right," he says. "I really don't like this today. I have a really bad feeling about it."

"Everything is going to be fine. I promise, Joe."

"I don't know," he says. "I just don't feel right. Something isn't right."

"Everything is fine. It's a courthouse. There's going to be security everything is going to be all right. I am not the first attorney to take on a case like this and they are still alive. Everything is going to be all right, Joe don't worry."

"All right," he says taking a seat next to me at the table after giving me some crackers and milk.

"So what are your plans today while I am at work? Do you want to do lunch after court today?"

"I just have some errands to run this morning. I was fixing to get some paint for the nursery do you want dark blue or dark grey?" he asks, "and lunch sounds good just let me know what time court is over today."

"Why don't we do both dark blue and dark grey? I think that would look good. I think we should do both. Is that all you're doing?" I ask trying to keep his mind off me being in court.

"I mean I have some other places to go too but it won't be long. You can call me when you get out of court. Then I can pick you up or we could meet somewhere whatever is easiest for you."

"All right," I say with a smile. I drink my milk after eating a couple crackers. "I have to go. I will call you when I am done. I love you," I say as I stand up and he stands with me.

"I love you too," he says before we share a soft kiss. He walks me to the door and we share another kiss before I leave to go to the courthouse.

When I arrive at the courthouse security is tighter than usual. They are checking everyone that walks through the doors for weapons of any kind. The only ones passing through are the court officers and the security for the witnesses. I walk through metal detectors, have my briefcase checked and then sent through. I meet up with Ramirez shortly after. "How are you today, Ramirez?" I ask him as he stands in a nice suit and tie with his hair freshly cut.

"I'll be better when you get me off today," he smiles.

"I'm going to do my best," I say with a smile. "I think we have a pretty good chance. I mean the only thing they can get you on is statutory rape but there is no proof of the assault. It's just his injuries."

"I swear if I knew that girl was 16 I wouldn't have slept with her. I wouldn't have touched her. That's not who I am. I have a little sister too. If some guy touched her over 18 I would be pissed too so I get it. I just didn't know I needed to check ID before I had sex with someone. She said she was 18 and she wanted it I didn't rape her or assault anyone."

"Like I said I am going to do what I can at the end of the day it's going to be up to the jury and what they believe."

"Great," he says. "Thank-you for helping me out."

"You're welcome," I say. "Hopefully I can get you out." I don't doubt his innocence at all. I strongly believe that he's innocent of raping this girl and for assaulting her brother. I just have to prove it.

When we walk into the courtroom it's packed with his crew and the other guy's crew. You can feel the tension in the air as everyone is sitting waiting for the hearing to begin. The jury comes in followed by the judge. We stand as the judge makes his way into the courtroom. We are told to be seated and we take a seat. It begins with the girl being called to the stand first. I watch as Peters, the most arrogant DA I have ever seen begins questioning her of the events that night she was raped. She tells the story that she met Ramirez, they were drinking together and hanging out together before he took her into a bedroom and raped her. She claims she told him no but he didn't listen. Then she tells everyone she's pregnant with his child and that he beat up her brother before I get my chance at her. I walk up to the witness stand and say, "Ms. Correa, on that night last October how did you meet my client, Mr. Ramirez?"

"We met at a party," she says with attitude.

"Right, so you had never spoken to him before that night, never texted him or planned to meet up with him at this party?"

"No," she says, "I didn't meet him until the party."

"Right, so what were you doing at a party Mr. Ramirez was hosting? I mean your brother is his biggest rival what reason would you have to be at his party?"

"It was an open invitation," she says.

"But why would you go to a rival's party knowing your brother would get upset and knowing there is bad blood between your gang and his gang?"

"I just wanted to have fun," she says.

"Right, so you never talked to Mr. Ramirez before the party?" I ask again.

"No, never," she says.

"Well, you see I have phone records that tell me you had been calling Mr. Ramirez prior after meeting him in the park a couple weeks earlier. I also have a log of your text messages to Ramirez talking about meeting up with him at his party." I hand the evidence to the judge after flashing it to the jury. "So you had known Ramirez before the party?"

"Yes," she says, "I knew him before the party."

"What reason did you have to be at a rival's party and for your brother to appear there after you had been 'raped'?" I ask.

"I just wanted to have a good time."

"With a rival?" I ask. "It doesn't make sense."

"My brother crashes parties all the time," she says. "He didn't know I was going to be there."

"Ah, right," I say. "But you hadn't texted your brother prior to say you were going to Ramirez's party?"

"No, he would kill me," she says.

"Right, so your text log also shows that you told your brother you were going to the party and you were meeting up with Ramirez."

"Um no," she says looking at her brother.

"So explain the text," I say putting it in front of her and then bringing it up for everyone to see in the room. "It says that you were going to Ramirez's party and your brother told you that you know what to do, what did you need to do?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she says. "I wasn't supposed to do anything."

"All right," I say, "I'm just reading the text that tells YOU that you know what to do, so again what is it that you needed to do."

"Objection," yells Peters.

"On what grounds counselor?"

"Badgering," he says.

"I'll allow it," says the judge. "Continue Ms. Romano."

"So Ms. Correa, what were you assigned to do to my client?" I ask again.

"Nothing," she says.

"No more questions," I say before I walk away.

The day continues on with witness after witness being called to the stand. Peters questions them and then I question them. I start to question Mr. Ramirez and as soon as he begins his story the entire courtroom erupts in an uproar between the two gangs and Ms. Correa's brother lashes out against Ramirez and me. The court officer tries to stop him but he pulls a gun from somewhere and shoots him, then shoots Ramirez and the gun goes off again and I feel it go through me, the pain of a bullet going through my bone. I fall to the ground, holding onto my wound as gunshots ring out through the courtroom. I close my eyes and everything goes black around me and the sound disappears.

 ***A/N: So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	17. Chapter 17

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much***

 **JOE:**

I walk into a jewelry store in the city of Manhattan, a very expensive jewelry store as a saleswoman comes over to me. "Hello, Sir," says a woman dressed in a plain black dress with her hair pulled up into a low bun. "Can I assist you in anything today?" she asks.

"I was hoping to find an engagement ring for my girlfriend," I say with a smile. I know Audrey and I have talked about marriage and we agreed we would wait a little bit but I don't mind getting her an engagement ring to wear and then we can have a long engagement there is no rush it's just a promise for the marriage that I want especially since we are about to have twin boys in a few months.

"Oh," she says with a smile, "that's wonderful news! I will gladly offer assistance," she says. "Follow me," she says and I start to follow her through the store. She takes me over to a case full of diamond rings. "These are our engagement rings. We also customize engagement rings as well in case you were looking for something original and something creative. Do you have a certain amount you were thinking on spending on an engagement ring?"

"I don't have a limit," I say honestly.

"Wow, this is a very lucky girl," she smiles.

"I think I am the lucky one," I smile.

"Is there a particular design you were looking for? Emerald, Halo, Princess cut, oval, one or three stoned or diamond band or just gold?" she asks and I have no idea what I am actually looking for. I don't know anything about diamond shapes. I just want to find the perfect ring for Audrey but knowing how unconventional she is I know I can't just pick just any ring. I need to pick a ring made just for her. "Or were you thinking about having a ring customized for your girlfriend?"

"I think I want to customize a ring for her, she's a little unconventional so I don't think just any ring is going to do for her. I think a special one made just for her will be perfect and just what she needs and like I said I don't have a budget. I just want to make something beautiful for her."

"All right, well, let's sit down and go over what you want," she smiles as we walk to sit down so I can get her ring customized. "Let's start with a ring size, what size ring are you looking for?"

"A size 7," I answer and she marks it down.

"Did you want a diamond band? Or did you just want a golden band? And would you like to make this a bridal set meaning the engagement ring and then the band for the day you get married?" she asks.

"I want to make it a set and I was thinking of doing a diamond band for both the engagement ring and the wedding ring."

"All right," she says as she writes it down. "What diamond weight are you looking for?"

"I was thinking 3 ct. diamond weight," I answer and she looks at me. "I'm sure that's what I want," I clarify, "with 3 stones."

"Wow," she says, "and you wanted the diamond band as well?"

"Yes," I say. "I was thinking of the diamond in the middle being a white diamond and the two diamonds beside it as black diamonds with a black and white diamond band as well as a black and white diamond wedding band," I say.

"That sounds very pretty, were you looking at a princess cut?"

"I was thinking the middle white diamond being an emerald cut and the two diamonds beside it in a princes cut."

"This is going to a beautiful set," she smiles at me as my cellphone starts to ring. I choose to ignore it while I am talking to the woman at the jewelry store. We go over the design again and she puts it into the computer and shows me what it would look like as my cellphone starts to ring again. "What do you think? Is that what you were thinking?"

"It's beautiful," I say ignoring my phone. "It's perfect," I say with a smile as I picture presenting Audrey with such a beautiful, unique ring on a special night. I haven't thought of when or how I am going to do it but I know I am looking toward after the boys are born sometime in the fall I plan to propose to her. I know autumn is her favorite time of the year so I am definitely planning on it being in the autumn time. My phone continues to ring. "Excuse me," I say to her as I pull my cellphone out of my pocket. I see it's my mom calling. "It's my mom, I have to take this," I say standing up and she nods. I walk over to get some privacy. "Yes, Mother," I say as I answer the phone.

"Joe, finally," she says. "I'm glad you finally picked up."

"Mom, I am in the middle of something. I am almost finished can I call you back in a little bit?" I ask.

"Joe," she says and I can hear something is off in her voice. It gets me concerned. "It can't wait."

"What's wrong?" I ask. "Are you okay?" I ask with concern thinking something happened to her. The last time she called me like this was when I lost my brother last year.

"I'm fine," she says before I interrupt her asking if something happened to my dad, my uncle or one of my sisters. "Joe, it's not your father, uncle or sisters it's Audrey," she says and my heart stops.

"Audrey?" I ask. "She's at work. I just saw her this morning, she was going to call me for us to get some lunch. She was just fine this morning," I say trying to process what my mom is saying to me.

"Joe," she says. "Have you not seen or heard the news?" she asks.

"I've been busy all morning long," I say. "I went out to get paint for the boys' nursery and then I had another errand to make. What's on the news, Mom, what aren't you telling me?" I ask with my heart racing inside my chest.

"Joe," she says and I know something is wrong. "There was a shooting," she says. "In the courthouse," she says. "There were multiple fatalities, two people confirmed dead," she says. "That's all I know," she says.

"Oh my God," I say in panic, "Is Audrey dead?" I ask, "tell me she's not dead." I say with tears in my eyes thinking about a life without her. "She couldn't have been there she said it was safe," I deny. "I don't think Audrey is hurt," I say.

"Joe, I talked to Isabel about 20 minutes ago," she says. "Audrey is in the hospital she has been shot," she says and I feel my world crumbling around me, my ears ringing and my heart stopping. I feel like my legs are made of jello, my hand shaking as I process the news.

"No, mom," I say. "She can't be dead, is she dead?" I ask.

"I don't know," she says, "they didn't give Isabel much information. Isabel and Audrey's father are taking an emergency flight out of Pensacola. They are on their way to New York. You need to get to the hospital," she says.

"All right, I am going now," I say. I hang up on my mom before I even think of it. I apologize to the saleswoman promising to be back at a later time to pay but that's the design I want before I hurry out of the store.

I rush to my car and climb in. I pull out in front of a black car to get a horn honked at me and a nice finger gesture. I have no time to worry about it. My mind is on Audrey and I am worried about Audrey. The worst keeps running through my mind. I start calling her from my phone and it keeps going to voicemail. I am hoping it's some mistake and she's fine. I cuss out loud as I get stuck in the daily Manhattan traffic. It probably would be easier if I went to the hospital on foot. I decide to park my car on some random street in the city and take off to the hospital. I run the entire 5 blocks to the hospital and run into the emergency room. Nearly out of breath I run up to the reception desk. "My girlfriend, she's pregnant, my girlfriend Audrey she was shot at the courthouse. Where is she? Is she okay?" I ask.

"I'm sorry, Sir," says the woman behind the desk. "Slow down. Who are you looking for?"

"Audrey Romano," I say. "She's pregnant and I need to know they are all okay. Those babies are mine," I say.

"And what's your name?" she asks.

"Joe Anoa'i," I answer, "Can I please get some information on my girlfriend?"

"Unless you're immediate family I cannot release any information on Ms. Romano," she says. "I apologize."

"She's my girlfriend," I say, "Please let me know if she's okay."

"I'm sorry, Sir. I am unable to release any personal information on a patient unless you are immediate family. I am told her parents will be here within a few hours. You're going to need to wait until they arrive before we can give you any information."

"What about the babies she's pregnant with?" I ask. "Are they okay? They are my children I have a right to know."

"I'm sorry but I am unable to answer that at this time. The only thing I can tell you is the doctor is with Ms. Romano right now. Please have a seat and wait," she instructs me. I let out a grunt of frustration and make my way over to the waiting area. I plop down into a chair and catch a glimpse of the TV playing in the waiting room displaying the news of the shooting at the courthouse.

I listen to the newscaster standing outside the courthouse that's blocked off by yellow caution tape with ambulances and bystanders all around. "I'm standing outside the courthouse where multiple have been shot inside. Five people have already been transferred to the hospital Judge O'Hara among them. An attorney has been transferred to the hospital and they are not releasing names until the families have been notified. Peterson the DA has been pronounced dead at the scene and gang member Victor Ramirez has been pronounced dead at this time. We are told there are two other fatalities and multiple injuries from a shooting that began from member of a rival gang. The gun man managed to escape the courthouse and is on the loose." A picture appears on the screen. "He is considered armed and dangerous," she announces. "The shooting happened around 9:15 this morning during the trial of Ramirez. According to witnesses Ramirez was on the stand when the gunshots began. We have no further information at this time but multiple injuries and two fatalities at this time. We will continue to cover this story and release details as they become available." It doesn't make me feel any better as I sit waiting and waiting for Audrey's parents to arrive.

Hours pass as I wait and wait for them to arrive, the agony of waiting feels like days. My mind already on the worst case scenario but no one will know until Isabel arrives. I tried calling her and she is unable to give me any information as the hospital is waiting until she arrives before they release any information. The only thing we both know is that Audrey is alive but not how severe her injuries are or if she lost the babies. I finally see Isabel and Audrey's father enter into the waiting room. I stand up in a rush and hurry over to them. "Mrs. and Mr. Romano," I say.

"Roman," says Isabel. "Have you heard anything?"

"They won't tell me anything," I say. "I'm not immediate family."

"I'm sorry," she apologizes to me before she gives me a hug. I shake Audrey's father's hand before they make their way over to reception. Audrey's father is usually a happy man but today he looks so lost and forlorn as he stands next to his wife as they talk to reception. Audrey is the spitting image of Isabel. It hits me like a brick seeing my girlfriend's mother standing before me. "They are getting the doctor," she says to me as he places her hand on my arm. "We will know some information soon."

"Thank-you," I say. "How are you two holding up?" I ask.

"The best we can," answers her husband. "How are you holding up?" he asks.

"I'm just trying to stay positive and think about the best but I don't know. I just need some information," I say. "I can't lose Audrey or the babies," I say with tears burning my eyes. "Audrey and I didn't even get time. I can't lose her," I say as I wipe at the tears falling from my eyes. I'm trying to hold it together but I feel a lump in my throat as I see the doctor approaching all three of us as we wait for him. The news he could tell us could change our entire world in a minute.

"Hello, I am Dr. Geisinger and I am looking for the Romano family," he says.

"I am Audrey's mother and this is her father," says Isabel. "How is Audrey? Is she okay?" she asks.

"And are the babies okay?" I ask.

"And you are?" he asks.

"I am Audrey's boyfriend and those babies are my children," I say.

"Audrey just came out of surgery," he says. "Audrey got very lucky today. A few inches lower or higher she could have lost her life today. She did however lose a lot of blood and we needed to do a blood transfusion. We took her into surgery to remove the bullet and it was a very successful. We aren't entirely out of the woods yet and we will continue to observe her. The next 24 hours are crucial."

"But she's going to be all right?" I ask with concern.

"We aren't sure yet she did lose a lot of blood and we nearly lost her in surgery but we were able to bring her back. Like I said we will continue to monitor her and the next 24 hours are very crucial."

"Thank-you," says Isabel, "and what about the babies did they make it or did she lose them?" she asks.

"Unfortunately," he begins and I feel my heart stop. "We lost one of the baby boys," he says. "We tried to save him but we were unable to."

"And the other baby?" I ask, "how is the other baby?" Tears burning my eyes on the thought of losing one of my sons, we were so excited to have twins and to have two little boys. I don't understand why life is happening the way it is right now.

"The other baby seems to be doing well but it is also crucial for him in the next 48 hours. The stress of the injury on his mother could cause a miscarriage. We are hoping that it does not happen but there is a chance she could miscarry him too. We will keep an eye on him the next 48 hours." I was not ready to hear that news. I was not ready to hear it at all. I have never felt more pain in my life than knowing I lost a child. I have no idea if Audrey knows or not. I hope for her sake while she's alone she has been unconscious. I don't want her to be alone when she hears the news. The tears flow from my eyes as the doctor keeps talking but I don't hear what he is saying. Isabel wraps her arm around me for support.

"When can we see her?" asks Isabel. "Are we able to see her?"

"You are able to see her now but she is sleeping but you are still able to go see her," he says.

"Thank-you," says Isabel. "Joe would you like to go see Audrey first?" she asks.

"No," I say. "I think you two should go see her first. I will see her when you're done."

"All right," she says, "I am so sorry, Joe for your loss. I am really sorry."

"I'm sorry too," I say but I don't know how to respond to an apology. I am upset that someone took my son's life and nearly took Audrey's life. There's still a chance I could lose both my son and my girlfriend. I take a seat as they follow the doctor to see Audrey. I want to give her parents time to see her. I let out a deep breath as my tears fall from my eyes. My heart is breaking more every second that passes by as I think of a life that my son will never get to live. I will never know what he looked like, who he was supposed to be and how he would be as a person. My phone starts to ring and I pull it out of my pocket to see my mom calling. "Hey, Mom," I say holding myself together.

"Hey, Joe, have you heard anything? How is Audrey? I heard about the shooting it sounds like it was bad and the man is on the loose."

"Well, Audrey got lucky. They said a few inches higher or lower she would have died. She lost a lot of blood and they needed to do a blood transfusion. She had to go through surgery so the next 24 hours are crucial," I say as I let a soft sob escape me. "And we lost a baby."

"Joe, I am so sorry," she says with sympathy in her voice. "I am so sorry. What about the other baby? How is he doing?"

"They say the next 48 hours are crucial. The doctor said that the stress of the shooting could cause a miscarriage. I don't even know if Audrey knows she lost a baby. I don't understand it. We were so happy. We were just talking last night about the nursery and the theme for the nursery and today we lost a baby and I nearly lost my girlfriend and my other son. I knew this whole trial was dangerous. I thought security was supposed to be tight where were they when this guy brought a gun into the courtroom and where were they when he started shooting. If I lose Audrey and the baby I will never forgive myself for not fighting harder to keep her from going to court. It's not fair, Mom. We wanted this baby."

"I know, Joe and I am sorry. I know sorry isn't enough right now but it's all I can say. I'm going to come up to New York to be with you both for a few days. I know Audrey's parents are probably going to be staying there too. I love you, Joe."

"I love you too," I say wiping the tears from my face. "It hurts, Mom."

"I know, Joe. I wish I could take your pain away but you and Audrey both need each other right now. You two need each other to get through this. You both need all the support you can get and you both have families that love you so much. We are all here for you."

"Thank-you," I say. "Mom, I'm going to go. Let me know the details of your flight and I will be at the airport to pick you up when you arrive."

"I will," she says. "I love you, Joe."

"Love you too," I say, "bye, Mom."

"Bye, Joe," she says before she and I end the call. I sit back in the chair after turning my phone off wondering why God would do this to us. Why would he take our son away, why would he allow this to happen to us?

"Joe," I hear Isabel say as she snaps me out of my thoughts. "You can go see Audrey now," she says.

"Thanks," I say as I stand up. I give her parents each a hug before I make my way to see Audrey. I walk into her room and hear the beating heart of Audrey and the beating heart of our son. I wasn't prepared to see her laying in this bed unconscious. She's out. I walk over to the bed and take her hand into mine. I kiss the top of her head softly with tears in my eyes before I kiss her hand. "Audrey," I say before I lose it breaking down into sobs. "I love you so much! I need you, Audrey," I say through my sobs. "Please don't leave me. I have so much planned for us. You know where I was when I got the news? I was getting you a ring because I want you to be my wife. I want to live with you forever. I want to have time with you, we need time," I cry. "Please, Audrey we have an entire future we need to live and we need to have time together. We didn't get nearly enough time. We need time, Audrey, please don't leave me," I cry. "Please, Audrey."

I hear a soft groan escape from her soft lips and look to see her dark brown eyes flick open. "Joe," she says weakly.

"I'm here," I promise her. "I'm here."

"The babies," she says. "The babies are they okay and what happened?"

"You don't remember?" I ask.

"I remember asking Ramirez questions and then I remember being shot. I don't remember anything else," she says. "Are the babies okay?" she asks. Tears burn my eyes knowing I need to tell her the truth.

I shake my head as the tears fall from my eyes. "One of the babies didn't make it," I explain. "They did what they could but you miscarried the baby and I'm sorry."

"No," she says, "I didn't."

"I'm sorry, Audrey," I say. "I am so sorry."

"What about the other baby is he okay?" she asks as the tears fill her dark eyes. I run my hand over her head.

"He is doing pretty good of course the next two days are crucial," I explain. "He will be okay," I say. "And you're going to be okay."

"But we lost a baby," she says as she starts to cry. "We lost a baby."

I climb into the hospital bed with her and lay next to her. "I know but we'll be okay one day. We'll be okay," I say. "I love you, Audrey."

"I love you too," she says as I place my hand on her stomach. She starts to sob and I comfort her as we cry together not knowing where life is going to take us in the next couple days. Life as we know it has changed drastically in the last 24 hours.

 ***A/N: What did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	18. Chapter 18

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

 **JOE:**

I walk into mine and Audrey's room to check on her a couple days after she was released from the hospital. She was looking good other than her arm injury where she will need to wear a sling for a few days to a couple weeks and possibly undergo physical therapy to regain the strength in her arm and get her muscles working the right way again. As of right now her arm is pretty much limp from the shooting it's better than losing her although I know she's not happy about losing use of her arm due to the damage of the entrance of the bullet but she at least walked away with her life unlike so many other people in that courthouse that day. They still haven't captured or found the shooter he remains on the loose armed and dangerous. As for the baby our remaining son is holding on and he has a strong heartbeat. He's a fighter that's for sure and he is out of the woods for now as long as Audrey takes it easy and remains in bed for a couple weeks. "Hey, Beautiful," I say as I walk into the room bringing her a cup of orange juice and something to eat.

"Hey," she says as she sits up.

"How are you feeling today?" I ask.

"Numb," she answers. "Just numb, I prefer to feel nothing at all than feel the loss of Jared," she says as I place her food on the tray.

"I know," I say. "I know it is the hardest loss of my life. I thought losing my brother last year was bad but this is so much worse," I say as I sit next to her in the bed. "I brought you some breakfast."

"Thank-you," she says. "And thanks for cutting it up for me."

"You're welcome," I say as I settle next to her to spend a little time with her. "I talked to Vince," I say.

"Oh yeah?" she asks. "How did that go?"

"It went okay. He sends his thoughts and prayers to you. He also gave me a few weeks off so that I can be with you and help take care of you."

"Joe," she says. "My parents and your mom are both in this apartment staying. They can take care of me so you don't have to take off work because I want you to be able to take time off once the baby gets here."

"I know but I want to be here for you. It's not an easy time for either of us. I know you're hurting nearly as much as I am hurting right now. I never expected to lose my son."

"I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have taken on that case. I knew it was dangerous walking into it but I really thought I could get Ramirez off but now he's gone, our son Jared is gone and I nearly lost Baby M and my own life. It was foolish to take on such a dangerous case and I regret it."

"Audrey, it wasn't your fault," I say. "Yes, we knew this case was dangerous but you did what you thought was best. You thought there would have been better security. No one could have expected this to happen. No one could have expected someone to get past the metal detectors with a gun on them. No one knew that was going to happen."

"It shouldn't have happened but it did happen. I should have never taken that case and we wouldn't have lost Jared. We don't even get to have a proper burial for him and he doesn't get an obituary because they consider it a miscarriage."

"We can do something to remember him, Audrey," I say wrapping my arm around her. "We'll think of something. I'm so sorry, Audrey."

"Me too," she says, "but at least Baby M is okay for now. I couldn't have lost him, we couldn't have lost him too. I'm sure Jared is up there with your brother right now and he's taking caring of him."

"I'm sure he is," I say with a smile and tears in my eyes as I think about my brother and my son spending time in Heaven together. I know our son Jared is in good hands and is watching over us but that doesn't take the pain away or make it any less. "I love you, Audrey."

"I love you too, Joe and we are going to get through this. We have to get through this," she says before I lean over and kiss her lips softly. "We are still blessed and I still look forward to meeting our son."

"Me too," I say with a smile. "I know this isn't the best time to ask but what are you going to do about work? Are you going to go back or are you done with your job?" I ask her. I know it's still a fresh wound and she probably hasn't thought that far ahead but I want to know, I need to know.

"Talk about salting the wounds," she says, "I am fresh out of the hospital, Joe. I am just now getting a chance to learn what went down in that courtroom. I literally blacked out. I just remember talking to Ramirez, the shooting starting and then I was out. I haven't had a chance to decide what I want to do but honestly at this point and don't quote me on this but I kind of just want to get a lump settlement from my employer and pursue something else. I don't think or believe the risk of continuing with this job is worth it. Even before I lost Jared I wasn't sure I was going to go back after I had the babies. We spent a lot of money to have these babies well baby," she says, "and we lost one because of my job. God is giving us this baby for a reason and kept this baby safe when he could have taken him from us too but he didn't for a reason. And I don't think that reason was for me to go back to work. I'm going to check what other options are out there, then I will make a decision but as of right now I can't go back and I don't want to go back but it's all up to what other options I have. I thought of possibly opening up an Italian restaurant here or maybe moving back to Florida to help my mom and dad out with theirs. They aren't getting younger and they need help. I don't know there's so many options and I want to take time to think about it before I choose to leave the law firm."

"I understand," I say. "I will support you no matter what," I say.

After spending time with Audrey and sharing breakfast with her I leave her to get some rest because she needs to get all the rest she can get. I walk out to the kitchen with her empty plate and glass. I put everything into the sink to put the dishes into the dishwasher later. "How is she doing?" asks her mom.

"Better than I expected," I say truthfully. "She's still in good spirits about having the other baby but she's hurting from losing Jared," I say.

"At least she's not shutting down completely and still taking care of herself for the baby. I am so sorry that you two lost your son," she says. "I know I have said sorry so many times in the last few days but I am truly sorry. I know how much you both were looking forward to having the boys."

"Thank-you," I say with a nod. "I'm just glad Audrey is handling it this well because I'm a mess. There are so many things I am going to miss out on doing with Jared. How are we going to explain to his brother that he is actually a twin but his brother was lost at 12 weeks into the pregnancy? It doesn't seem fair."

"Life isn't always fair, Joe," she says placing her hand on my shoulder. "No one knows why or can explain why this happened. It's not fair that Jared had two parents and still has two parents that love him beyond words and wanted nothing more than to love him so much and to give him the world. He will always know that you love him. And he will always be looking down on you and Audrey as well as his brother. Life isn't fair, Joe but sometimes things happen beyond our control and we find ourselves needing the answers we can't find. I'm still trying to figure it out."

"I know," I say. "Audrey and I want to do something for him. We didn't really get a chance to have a proper burial for him since they call it a miscarriage at this stage in pregnancy. He was still a living being inside her womb and he had a name Jared Joseph Romano-Anoa'i. I think he deserves something," I say, "and so does Audrey."

"Hmm," she says, "Why don't you plant a tree in his honor, buy a house and plant a tree in his honor or some type of annual flower," she says.

"Audrey does not want to leave the city and there are no houses in the city," I say, "so that's probably not going to work unless the apartment complex allows us to plant a tree outside or some type of plant."

"You could do a memorial box," she says, "you know put his picture in it from an ultrasound and the outfit you had for him. I also saw some place overseas creates hearts with a baby inside of it up to 13 weeks to use in memory of your lost child. You can get them custom made and choose whatever colors you wish."

"That actually sounds like a good idea. Do you know where you saw that online?"

"No, but I can look it up for you," she says with a smile. "I thought it was a very nice way to remember a lost baby."

"I like the idea of a shadow box with that heart, sonogram picture of Jared, his little rattle and I was thinking of getting something with the boys' heartbeats. I don't know," I say, "and I want to keep Jared's memory alive for his brother because his brother deserves to know he had a twin and his own angel looking over him. It's just crazy because the night before we were talking about doing a moon and stars theme for the nursery and for some reason it seems even more fitting now than before."

"That's a cute theme and maybe it is the stars that get you," she says. "You could also buy a star in Jared's memory and hang it in the nursery."

"I love that idea. I have to talk this over with Audrey but I don't see why she would say no."

"I think she will like it," she smiles. "So are you going to take time off work for a while?"

"Yes even though Audrey wishes I wouldn't but I feel like my place right now is to be with her and spend time with her as we deal with this heartache and loss. I don't want to leave her alone. She said that since you're here she doesn't think I should have taken off work so that I am home when the baby comes. I haven't told her yet I plan to quit after we have the baby. I don't think it's the time for that."

"I would probably wait for that announcement," she says, "especially right now. Do we know if Audrey is going back to work or not?"

"I don't think she is," I say, "but it is up to her to make that decision and it is for her to discuss with you. I prefer she didn't return back to work but like I said it is completely her decision."

"That's true. I would rather she not return back either but ultimately it's her decision and she did go to school for a really long time so that she could be a lawyer and has worked really hard to get where she is today. I know she was trying to make partner."

"Yeah," I say letting out a deep breath. "I just want to see her do whatever makes her happy yet keeps her safe. I feel like she's kind of blaming herself for all of this but no one knew that was going to happen. No one could have expected better security in a courthouse."

"Yeah I agree with that," she says as Audrey's dad walks into the kitchen. I have been wanting to talk to him for a couple days now but it wasn't the time as we were dealing with Audrey being in the hospital and we were both occupied tending to her needs and keeping her comfortable. "I am glad you're finally awake," she greets her husband with a soft kiss on the lips.

"Catching up on sleep," he says in his Italian accent. "I missed some sleep." It's true we all had sleepless days while Audrey was in the hospital. No one wanted to sleep knowing she was there. "Good morning, Joe."

"Good morning," I say with a soft smile. "Can I get you anything? Get you some coffee or some breakfast?"

"Some Coffee," he says.

"All right, Isabel?" I ask.

"No, I'm all right. I am going to go lay down for a little bit and get some rest. When I wake up I will get that information for you."

"Thank-you," I say as I get ready to make Mr. Romano's coffee. I know he likes his coffee black and strong. I have had his coffee before and it could seriously wake a hibernating bear. I hope I can make it like he likes Audrey is the same way so I should have no problem.

"How are you doing, Son?" he asks taking a seat at the table.

"Just trying to make it through the day, how about you?"

"The same," he says. "So you're living with my only daughter huh?"

"Yes," I say, "I've been living with her for a few months now. We figured this would be easiest with the baby and all."

"I see," he says as he runs his fingers over the golden ring on his pinky. I will not deny the fact that he is a good looking man. He keeps himself in shape and he has the perfect olive skin like Audrey. She is her mother's twin but I know she gets her drive and passion from her father. He still scares me after all these years. "What are your intentions with my daughter? I know you're having a baby with her but what are your intentions because this has escalated to something more than just an artificial insemination deal."

"Well," I say as the coffee finishes. "I love your daughter," I say as I pour him a cup of coffee. "Very much so. She is everything to me," I say as I bring him his coffee.

"You have to understand that I don't believe it's appropriate or acceptable for a man to be living with my daughter without being married to her. I understand Audrey is unconventional but I am conservative in my beliefs and I do not like you living with my daughter. I don't find it appropriate."

"I understand your concerns," I say, "and yes Audrey is very unconventional but I also wanted to talk to you about something because I know how old school you are and I am not being offensive. I am respecting you by saying this. I want to marry your daughter," I say. "The day she was shot I was actually at the jewelry store customizing a ring for her. I was planning on asking her sometime in the fall or maybe sooner. I don't know. I just want to ask her to marry me and I am asking for permission."

He gives me a smile and says, "You want permission to marry my only daughter?"

"Yes Sir I do. I love your daughter more than anything. I want to make her happy the rest of my life and give her and our son the world. I have realized I want the rest of my life with her to be her best friend and love her till I take my last breath."

He smiles and says, "Well, Joe, I have been waiting for this. I know you have loved Audrey for a long time. You have my permission to ask her to marry you. I am still not happy about the living situation but I can't change my daughter and her beliefs much like she can't change me or my beliefs. I just want her to be happy and to be loved. So you don't know when you want to ask her to marry you?"

"I don't know," I say. "It won't be long. I was thinking of doing it in the fall but maybe sooner. I have to think it out and I will get back to you."

"All right," he says. "Is it going to have something to do with football?"

"I don't know," I say with a smile, "it could we are both crazy over football. I was thinking of something more special for us than just football. Like I said, I have to get this all planned out and make it special to make her want to say yes."

He nods and says, "Joe, I just want to see you make her happy and see her loved by the man she deserves. Good luck, Joe."

"I plan to," I say with a smile. "Thank-you," I say as I shake his hand. I just hope that when I finally do propose to Audrey she says yes. I know we have talked about it but she isn't really into the idea of marriage but I hope that after the shooting and everything we are going through that she will say yes. I can only hope.

 ***A/N: What did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	19. Chapter 19

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

 **ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER:**

I'm sitting in the living room of my New York City Penthouse apartment in the middle of Manhattan. I used to love this city and everything it had to offer. I enjoyed walking to work on the beautiful days of summer and the crisp fall mornings taking in the scenery of the city around me as the hustle and bustle of New York City gathered around me with lines of traffic, horns honking from impatient drivers while flocks of pedestrians filled the sidewalks on their way to work. I enjoyed days of going to Central Park and sitting in the park listening to the sounds around me and watching families have time together on the weekends dreaming of taking my own children to Central Park on a Saturday morning to spend time together as a family after a long busy week at work. What I never expected or ever dreamed of was how much I could start to dislike the city and see the evil the city had to offer. I never thought I could hate New York City until the day I was shot doing my job and everything in my life changed. "What's wrong?" asks my mom Isabel as she is sitting with me. I have enjoyed my parents and Joe's parents both being in New York with me and him to help us through.

"I thought I could always love New York City and have always wanted to live here since I was a little girl," I say, "but I don't think I love it as much as I did just like I am not sure how much I truly love my job anymore. I don't know what I want to do but I don't think I want to go back to work or even live here in the city but a part of me isn't willing to leave New York."

"I understand," she says. "I do believe you still love New York you just don't like what happened to you in New York. Bad things happen everywhere in our lives but that doesn't mean we need to hate the place we live. You have always loved New York and the city. You wanted to live here since you were a little girl," she says. "You had dreams of moving here and living here are you saying you want to leave now?"

"I don't know what I want to do," I say. "I always did want to raise my children here. I started building a life here and I did love it here. I have been thinking about going back to Pensacola to live."

"Really?" she asks.

"I miss my family and I know Joe misses his family too. It wasn't fair for me to ask him to come all the way to New York to live up here with me and leave Florida. I miss Florida too. I miss the sunshine and I miss the beaches. I just miss being near you and Papa," I explain. "While I love New York and Manhattan for many different reasons nothing is like being at home with you and Papa."

"We miss you back home too and while we want you to be happy and would love for you to come back home to us we both understand you have started a life here. Are you sure you want to go back to Pensacola?"

"I don't know," I say letting out a breath. "I do love this apartment. It is the place I could first afford on my own and I love everything about it how it's in the middle of everything in Manhattan. I want to be able to take our son to Central Park and enjoy Manhattan at Christmas time enjoying the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade every year and going to Macy's to see Santa Claus every Christmas. I want to take him to the best toy stores in the world," I say, "but New York isn't as safe as it used to be. I got shot at work, Mom. I never thought that could happen and then it did."

"Audrey, I know you're scared after everything that happened a couple weeks ago. I understand your fear. It should never happen again. It was a high tense situation and it turned into a deadly situation. You can't live your life in fear. The man that did it has finally been arrested and will be in jail for a long time for what he did. You are safe, Audrey and nothing like that is ever going to happen to you again."

"I know because I am never going back to work at the law firm. I know I worked so hard the last few years but everything in my life has changed. I have a boyfriend that I love, we're having a baby and I don't have the time to put in the hours at the law firm I was because I want to be with my son. I didn't come this far in my life to have someone else raise my child or children with Joe working for WWE and being on the road so much our son will need one of us around not some nanny raising him. He needs the consistency of one of his parents being home. I'm going to miss my job but it's not for me anymore. I have other plans for my life."

"What are those plans?" she asks with a smile. "You going to marry Joe?"

"Hopefully," I smile, "One day I am going to marry him. I know how happy that makes you and his mom. You two have wanted it for a while now and after the shooting I don't really want to put my life on hold anymore. Being shot made me do some thinking about my life and how happy I really am living it. I spent so many years in school and so many years at the law firm that I didn't give my personal life the time it needed so I am in my early 30's nearly mid-30's and I want to have a baby. I want to be a mom and I was lucky enough to be able to get pregnant with my sons unfortunately losing one of them but still happy and blessed to be carrying a son for Joe and me. I never thought about love or getting married. I always thought I could go through life with my cat but never thought I would fall in love with Joe. We have talked about getting married further down the road but I want to get married soon because life is far too short to put my happiness on the back burner anymore waiting for a job promotion or something. Joe just needs to ask me if I want to marry him and I will say yes."

"I am so happy to hear that," she says giving me a look.

"What?" I ask. "You know something that I don't know don't you?" I ask.

"Maybe," she smiles, "but I am not allowed to say anything. I just think you and Joe are great together. I wish it could have happened sooner but later is better than it not happening at all. I know Joe loves you and you love Joe one day you two are going to be a happy family together."

"You still know something that I don't know," I say, "is Joe going to ask me to marry him?"

"I don't know," she says but her face gives it away that at some point; hopefully soon, Joe is going to propose to me and I am more than ready to say yes and get married to him. "So if you quit your job what do you plan to do for work?" she asks changing the subject so I definitely know she's hiding something. Her and Monica have been planning mine and Joe's wedding since the moment they found out we were having the boys. There is no way my mom would just change the subject if she hadn't a clue of something about to happen in my life regarding marriage.

"I don't know," I say. "I was really thinking of carrying on the family business up here in New York. I thought about opening my own Romano's up here or at least opening up a pizza shop. I haven't really decided. Joe told me that I could always be a stay at home mom but honestly I don't think that is the life for me. Yes I love my son but I also love working so I am leaning toward opening my own restaurant up here like the one down in Pensacola."

"That would be nice," she says, "do you know how to cook?"

"I know how to cook but of course I would hire a cook to do the cooking. I would just oversee things and make sure it has a good Italian feel to it. This would give me opportunity to be with the baby and be with Joe. I just hope I can be as successful as Papa."

"You have learned from the best, Audrey so I don't have any doubt in my mind that you couldn't do this or have a successful restaurant. And you know Papa will give you all the recipes for the dishes. I am so glad that you want to carry on the family business. Your Papa will be so proud of you and New York is a great place to do it with all the tourists and the celebrities. I know you can do this Audrey. I have no doubt in my mind."

"Thank-you, Mom," I say with a smile feeling more confident in my choice of leaving my law job to pursue a job in the restaurant business two different jobs and experiences but one job will give me more time that I want with my son.

 **LATER THAT NIGHT:**

"How are you feeling?" asks Joe as he comes into the living room dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt with his hair pulled up into a bun looking a little messy. He has been a stranger all day as he has been in the baby's nursery asking not to be bothered.

"I'm okay," I say with a smile as he sits down next to me. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm tired and exhausted," he says leaning his head back over the couch. "I never thought becoming a father would be so exhausting."

I let out a laugh and reach over to play with his hair. "Just wait until he actually gets here," I say, "then we will talk about exhausting. He is going to keep us up all night and all day," I say, "then we will know what true exhaustion is."

"I guess you're right," he says with a smile as I pull out his ponytail holder and start to comb my fingers through his hair. "How long do you think your dad is going to be staying with us?" he asks.

"I don't know until he feels comfortable leaving me here in New York without him being here. Why are you scared of him or something?" I ask with a smile.

"Well, to be honest yeah," he says with a soft smile. "You know your dad has always scared me and I wasn't even your boyfriend then. Now that I am your boyfriend I am even more scared of him. I don't want to make the wrong move and him come after me with his mafia connections." He says making a joke going back to when we were in high school. With my dad being an old school Italian man with a thick Italian accent following a lot of Italian traditions many people thought he had mafia connections to my knowledge he doesn't but then again I don't know for sure but Joe and I used to joke about it all the time because he was terrified of my papa when we were younger. "Plus I want to be intimate again as long as you're feeling up to it of course."

"I don't know about all that but why are you so scared of my Papa. He's harmless just a little old school but he likes you. You're my first boyfriend and he has known you for years. He's cool with you and me being together."

"He doesn't like us living together," he says, "not if we aren't married."

"Well, yeah I am his only baby girl," I say, "he's extra protective of me but we are getting married someday so it shouldn't really matter right?"

"Right," he says as he looks at me with his dark brown eyes. "I am just ready to be alone with you again."

"Soon," I say with a smile as I take his hand into mine, intertwining our fingers. "So I made a decision about work."

"Hmm?" he asks. "What did you decide and just know I will support you no matter what." He strokes my knuckles with his thumb softly making me smile. I crave his touch. It has been too long since we have had sex and made love to each other of course I have been healing but I am still craving his touch.

"I am not going back," I say. "I'm going to let him know in a few days but I can't go back to work at the law firm. Ever since the shooting it made me do some thinking. I'm done putting my life on the back burner for a promotion that will take me away from our son. I don't want that. I want as much time with him as I can get. Plus it's really not safe for me to go back to work. Life is too short and I just want to be happy with you and the baby. I want time to be a mom to our son and a girlfriend to you and maybe a wife someday."

"I think I like that decision," he says with a smile. "You choosing to be a stay at home mom?"

"Not really," I say. "I was actually thinking of opening an Italian restaurant, you know a Romano's here in the city. I think it would do really well and that I could get some really good business. It is just finding a place, hiring people and getting everything started. I have no idea where to start," I say, "but I am sure my papa can help me get started."

"Would that mean he would be staying with us longer?" he asks.

"Maybe," I say and he groans. "Joe, he doesn't really care that we are living together. We're having a child together," I say. "I don't think it should matter if we have sex or not."

"It's not that, it's just disrespectful to have sex with you when your father is under the same roof."

"Oh really?" I ask with a smile, "you weren't saying that on Christmas Eve when we were in my old bedroom in HIS house," I say. "Why does it matter now?"

"Good point," he says as he stands up and gets ready to scoop me up in his arms. "I mean it's been a really long time Audrey," he says.

"I know," I say stopping him, "just wait a minute."

"Okay," he says with a smile as he looks down at me. I stand up from the couch with his eyes on me and my eyes on him. I drop down in front of him to my knee and look up at him. "Audrey, what are you doing?" he asks.

I take his hand into mine as I look up at him in a moment of impulse. I didn't know what I was going to do until I was down on my knee in front of him, our dark eyes meeting him looking so sexy with his long hair hanging down to his shoulder blades. I stroke his knuckles with my thumb. I let out a deep breath and say, "Joe, I love you. I love you so much and until you came along a few months ago I didn't know I wanted to have a life of forever with someone. It wasn't until you that I realized something was missing in my life, something I never thought I needed until you came into the picture. We have been best friends for years and you stepped up for me to help me when I needed you in the best way. Anyone could have said no but you didn't. I have been in love with you for a long time but I never wanted to say anything or act on it until I couldn't hold it back anymore. I love you Joe. You're an amazing, smart and handsome man, you're my baby's daddy, my favorite person to make a person with and the man I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you, have more kids with you, grow old with you. If there is one thing I have learned from the shooting it is not to take any moment for granted, not to wait and I don't want to wait anymore, Joe. I love you more than any words could ever say, Leati Joseph Anoa'i, I love you so much and I want to have forever with you. I want to be your wife, go to sleep next to you and wake up next to you. I want that the rest of my life, I want you the rest of my life as my best friend and my husband, Leati Joseph, will you marry me and become my husband?" I ask him with tears burning my dark brown eyes through my thick eyelashes. I see our parents off in the distance watching. I never planned it but it was the right time.

"Audrey," he says and I can tell he's speechless. "Well, I should have known to expect something unconventional from you," he smiles, "the day of the shooting I was actually picking out a ring for you and was planning to ask you to marry me but I guess you couldn't wait," he says.

"No need to wait," I say with a smile, "so?"

"Yes," he says with a smile. "I'll marry you, I will be your husband!" he says making me smile. I stand up and wrap my arm around him as he wraps his arms around me. "I love you, Audrey."

"I love you too," I say with a smile before we share a soft passionate kiss as our parents clap in the background. "I guess we have an audience."

"I guess so," he says with a smile before he kisses me again.

 ***A/N: I want everyone to know this entire week I have struggled on deciding to continue on with my Roman stories after his heartbreaking announcement. My thoughts and prayers definitely go out to him and his family at this time praying for a good recovery and him taking the time he needs to heal and be with his family. I struggled really hard with this decision but I have decided to continue on with my Roman stories for the simple fact he will be back someday and he still has fans that love him. Please let me know what you think of my decision and what you thought about this chapter. Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	20. Chapter 20

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

 **AUDREY:**

After a night of celebrating with family and then some alone time with my man I wake up as the sun shines into the bedroom window of my New York penthouse apartment. I grab my phone off the nightstand to see that it's well after 8 in the morning and the outside sounds like it. I can tell the hustle and bustle of the city is underway for the day. I hear the horns honking going down the street, people yelling as they walk the crowded sidewalks of New York. I put my phone back down on the nightstand and roll to face Joe as he's sleeping peacefully through the beginning part of the day. I smile as I watch him sleep. He's such an adorable sleeper resting his arms on his pillow with his head resting on his arms, his long hair spread out over the pillow, his full lips puckered out as he sleeps. I reach up and touch his face. I smile as he smiles. He catches my hand and kisses it softly before his dark brown eyes flicker open. "Good morning, Beautiful," he says with a satisfied smile, he should be satisfied after our night together. I didn't plan to ask him to marry me but it just happened and I am glad I did. I couldn't take the wait any longer.

"Good morning, Fiancee," I say with a smile.

"Mmm," he smiles. "I like hearing that."

"I like saying it," I smile. He leans over and kisses my lips with a soft sweet good morning kiss. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good," he says. "What about you?"

"Good," I say with a smile. "Do you think I will ever be able to use my arm again?" I ask talking about my limp arm that I got from the shooting. It's been a hard adjustment to get used to the last couple weeks. I'm used to having two arms available but right now I only have one.

"Like the doctor said with physical therapy you should regain use of your arm in no time."

"I hope so," I say, "I can't imagine handling a baby with just one arm."

"Everything will be okay," he says brushing some hair out of my face, he smiles as he looks at me.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing, I'm just thinking about how lucky I am to have such a beautiful fiancée in my life. I'm pretty damn lucky."

"I think I am the lucky one," I smile, "so you think our moms are already planning our wedding?" I ask cuddling into his arms.

He lets out a soft chuckle and says, "I can imagine they have been planning it since before you even asked me, and I said yes. It's been inevitable in their minds. I am sure they have been planning it."

"You think I will have my hands full with this whole wedding planning?" I ask. "You know with our moms?" He lets out another chuckle making me smile. "What?"

"I think they are going to have their hands full with you when it comes to wedding planning. I mean honestly you're a little extreme sometimes, you know what you want and how you want it. Not extreme in a bad way but in a good way. I just find it hard to believe they are going to push you over in anyway. I mean I was planning to have a beautiful date and planning a perfect way to propose to you but you caught me off guard and asked me to marry you. I was shocked to say the least."

"So you were really going to ask me huh?"

"I was," he says kissing the top of my forehead. "I have the ring and everything. I was just waiting for the perfect time to do it but you beat me to it."

"I'm sorry," I say as I rub his chest softly.

"No, don't be sorry. I thought it was very special coming from you. I think it will be a beautiful story to tell and very untraditional."

"I don't know if you have noticed or not but I'm not exactly traditional."

"I wouldn't have guessed," he laughs before kissing me again. "I love you, Audrey."

"I love you too, so when do I get the ring? I kind of want to post it on Instagram to let the world know."

"I'll tell you what," he says. "How about you and me have a date night tonight and then I give you the ring then? How does that sound?"

"Good," I say with a smile, "So did you want a big wedding or a small wedding? Any dates in mind?"

"There is no rush, Audrey."

"Joe, I guarantee the moment I walk out of this bedroom my mom and your mom are going to hound the shit out of me for details so I want to be prepared. I was thinking of a small intimate affair but then again we both have big families and I don't want anyone to be left out."

"Well, we could have a small intimate ceremony with just close friends and close family then the reception we could go as crazy as we want and make it big."

"That sounds good," I smile. "I like that idea. How long do you want to wait?"

He chuckles and says, "Why don't we wait until spring of next year?"

"Around Wrestlemania?" I ask.

"About that," he begins, "actually never mind but yes around Wrestlemania of next year you know when the baby is older and you're fully recovered from the pregnancy."

"So April or May," I say. "I can work with that but that's enough talking about the wedding for now," I smile. "I'm not done celebrating with you yet," I smile.

"Good to know," he smiles before he rolls me over onto my back causing me to giggle.

 **THAT AFTERNOON:**

"Well that was a brutal breakfast," says Joe as we are sitting in the doctor's office room waiting to have an ultrasound done to see how the baby is doing after everything and to check to see if there are any underlying issues we should be concerned about. "Who knew wedding planning could be so intense."

I let out a laugh and say, "I think that's the right word to use. Our moms are like sharks ready for the kill. I haven't even thought about color schemes, venues or dresses. I'm glad we got as far as we did with the date and the size of the wedding by the way I think April 18th is the perfect date for the wedding."

"Me too, sure you don't want to run off and elope?"

"Tempting but it wouldn't be fair to our families especially our moms it's like they have been dreaming of this all their lives."

"I think they have, Audrey, no joke," he says.

"I'm starting to feel that way too," I smile, "but I like seeing them happy even if they are extra."

"Beyond extra," he says and we laugh together just before we are called to the back for our ultrasound.

Once we get to the back I am given a gown to put on and Joe helps me since I am one armed and I take a seat on the bed just before the doctor comes in. "Hello, Audrey," says Dr. Singh.

"Hello, Dr. Singh," I say with a smile.

"How is everything going? How are you feeling after everything?"

"It's been a little tough but everything is okay. We are taking it day by day and I am still taking care of myself for the baby."

"That's great news. I know it was quite a scare to say the least," he says. "But from the hospital reports you're pregnant with a fighter."

"I think so too but more so a miracle," I say with tears in my eyes feeling blessed that this baby held on and didn't let go. It was hard to lose Jordan but to lose this baby I can't even imagine how I would be doing if we had lost both of the babies.

"It is a miracle," he smiles, "so I just want to do an ultrasound to check him out and to see if there are any underlying issues."

"Okay," I say with a nod.

I lay back on the bed as Joe gets up and walks over to the side of the bed to hold my hand. I am anxious and excited to see my baby or our baby rather. "All right," he says as he turns on the machine. "Let's see this baby." He puts the cold gel on my stomach before taking the Doppler over my stomach. "All right little guy where are you?" he asks as he moves the Doppler around. "Ah," he says, "there you are." I look on the screen and see our baby inside my womb looking cozy. "He is looking good, nice strong heartbeat," he says. "He is looking very good and healthy. This is the side of his face right here," he says. "Well, I have never seen a baby with such full lips," he says. "Let's try to get a look at that beautiful face."

"I think he is the perfect mixture of us," I say to Joe. "He definitely has my nose and your mouth."

"I would say so," says Joe with a smile. "He's going to be beautiful."

"Ah, look at that face," he says.

"I can't with the cuteness," I say with a smile. "He's going to be beautiful."

"He is," says Joe with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes. "Definitely worth the money we paid to make him and his brother."

"Stop that sounds so bad even if it's true," I say as the doctor shows us the rest of his body. He shows us his arms and his hands. It looks like he is waving at us and he is very active moving around all over my stomach, flipping and his bottom comes up on the screen making us laugh.

"So it is definitely a boy right?" asks Joe.

Dr. Singh lets out a laugh and says, "well, I would say so. He's not shy by any means," he says pointing to the screen.

"And that is definitely a penis," he says making me laugh. "I don't think I could handle a girl, no way could we handle a girl."

"Yeah," I agree. "I could see me arguing with a mini version of myself I'm not easy so I would imagine my daughter wouldn't be either although I'm not sure I am ready for a boy either. I grew up with all brothers and hung out with this guy right here. I know my brothers were not easy to raise and were active ALL the time."

"I never got tired," says Joe.

"You still never get tired," I say with a wink. "I think he will get the best of both of us."

"As long as he has those eyes and those eyelashes," he smiles.

"And we already know he has those lips," I say with a smile. "I can't wait to meet him. I can't wait to hold him in my arms."

"I can't wait either," says Joe.

"That brings me to this question," says Dr. Singh. "We had originally discussed a C-section because of you having twins but since you lost one of the boys do you think you would still like to have the C Section or would you rather just let him come whenever he wants and do a vaginal birth?"

"I think he should pick his birthday. I want to do a vaginal birth."

"All right," he says with a nod. "That sounds perfect. You're very lucky," he says. "This could have been worse but you have a very healthy and strong baby boy in there and one that isn't shy apparently," he says making us laugh.

"Thank-you," I say with a smile. Dr. Singh prints off pictures for us before we schedule our next appointment and then we head home so I can get ready for our date night together. It's been a while since we actually went out and enjoyed each other. I want to do it as much as possible before Joe goes back to work and before the baby comes. I already know I'm not going back to work at the law firm so I can start my new business at any time I wish.

 **LATER THAT NIGHT:**

"So this has been fun," I say with a smile as I finish up my pasta in the Italian restaurant of a family friend. My Papa got us reservations even though it's nearly impossible at times because it is so crowded and busy.

"It really has. I want to get in as much time with you as I can before the baby gets here."

"Me too," I say with a smile, "and until you go back to work."

"About that," he says, "I don't think I am going back for a while. I want to take some time off, put my focus into some more important things like my fiancée and my son. I love my job don't get me wrong but I want to take a break, take some time off and focus on some important matters in my life."

"Joe, you don't have to do that," I say.

"I do have to do that," he says. "There's stuff that I need to take the time to focus on before I can go back into the ring starting with spending time with you, making sure you're okay and the baby is okay. I know it's a little crazy but we will be all right. I have made more than enough money to make it through without working for a while and I know you have made a lot of money at your job as well. It's not like we are poor, Audrey. We can do this. I just feel like right now my place is at home and it is with you and the baby. I don't want to go back a month or two then be off again because you had the baby. There are so many things we can do before the baby gets here like go on a baby moon, take a nice vacation, go back home to Florida to visit. I'm working on the nursery and I just want to be with you right now and I will want to be with the baby after he's born."

"How much time off are you talking?" I ask as I take his hand into mine stroking it softly.

"I was thinking of taking off anywhere between 12 months to 15 months," he says.

"That's a long time," I say. "are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"I'm sure, Audrey. Like I said my place right now is to be at home with you and the baby when he comes. I will go back eventually but right now I need this time off."

"And will Vince be okay with you not going back for that long? What about everything they have planned for you?"

"Life happens you know? I just need that break and I'm not sure if Vince will approve it or not but I plan to talk to him about it."

"I understand," I say, "I can't say that I'm upset with it. I like the idea of having more time with you and I like the idea of the vacation before the baby comes," I smile.

"Thank-you for understanding," he says, "so what about you? Have you made a decision about work?"

"I have. I am putting in my resignation in a couple days when I find the right words to say. Like you I feel like right now my focus should be on myself and the baby as well as you. I'm not going back. I might eventually one day but right now I don't want to go back. I want to focus on us and our family as well. I want to open that restaurant and get that started but like you said life happens and I need a break."

"I figured," he smiles. "I think we are going to have a lot of extra time on our hands."

"I don't know what on Earth we can do with all that extra time."

"Oh, I am sure I can think of something. Maybe some wedding planning?" he asks with a smile.

"Maybe," I say with a smile, "Maybe a few trips home to Pensacola especially when the baby comes," I say. "Maybe a permanent trip home to Pensacola."

"A permanent trip home to Pensacola?" he asks.

"Yeah, I love New York and I think New York is beautiful but is it the place I want to raise our son or future children? Not really. I like the Pensacola feel and the weather. I like the idea of being close to our families because let's face it Joe they love us and they are going to want to see their grandson quite a bit so I think moving back to Pensacola is what I want to do only if you want to."

"We can be there next week looking for a house," he smiles.

"I thought you would like that," I say with a smile. "So I remember my fiancée telling me he has a ring for me?"

"I do," he says with a smile before reaching into his pocket. "I hope it's everything you wished for and everything you ever hoped for," he says.

"Anything from you is everything I ever hoped for," I smile.

"Ask me, Audrey," he says.

"Ask you?" I ask.

"What you asked me last night," he smiles.

"Oh, okay. Joe, will you spend the rest of your life with me and take me as your wife and be my husband forever and always?" I ask.

"Yes, Audrey," he says with a smile. "I will marry you."

He opens the small box and I feel the tears in my eyes. I look at the 3 Ct diamond engagement ring in front of me with a beautiful white emerald cut diamond in the middle of two princess cut black diamonds with a black and white diamond band "It's beautiful, Joe," I say with tears in my eyes. "Absolutely beautiful," I say.

"I hoped you would like it," he says as he takes it out of the box. "To the future Mrs. Anoa'i," he says as he places it on my finger.

"I like that but I was thinking more like Mrs. Romano-Anoa'i or you could be Mr. Romano," I say with a smile.

"I'm not even surprised by that. I love you, Audrey."

"I love you too," I say with a smile. We ask our waiter to take a picture of us together with me showing off my ring and then I post it onto my Instagram page with the hashtag Going to be his Mrs. and the caption _I asked he said yes!_ I lean over and kiss his lips softly and passionately to the point he calls for the check and it makes me giggle with his excitement to get home to celebrate our lives together all over again. There is so much coming our way and so many changes coming in our lives but I am ready for whatever change comes as long as he is by my side.

 ***A/N: What did you think? Are you still interested in this story, should I continue? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	21. Chapter 21

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much***

 **Joe:**

I wake up in the early morning and look over to see Audrey is still fast asleep on our bed. She looks beautiful in my t-shirt with it hanging off her shoulder. One of her arms resting above her perfect little baby bump as she exposes it and the black shorts she's wearing with the t-shirt. Her other hand rest on its back on her pillow, her soft plump lips parted as she breathes and her dark hair sprawled around her with her legs tangled in the sheets. I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life. She is perfect in every way and just as beautiful inside as she is on the outside. I take a few minutes to watch her sleep and admire her beauty. I smile as I place my hand on her growing stomach. I lean over and kiss it softly. "Good morning in there Little Guy," I say with a smile as I rub her stomach softly. "I got to see you yesterday and that made me even more anxious to see you and meet you. I am counting down the days until I can hold you in my arms and kiss that beautiful face of yours. Your mommy and I are thinking you're the perfect mixture of both of us but honestly I hope that you look more like your mom than you do me because your mom is beautiful. She is one of the most beautiful women in the world. I am pretty lucky to be marrying her and you are pretty lucky to have her for a mommy. We went through a lot to get you but it was worth it all and I can't wait until you're here with us so that we can be a completed family. I love you so much already there are no words to describe how much I love you. I promise your mom and I are going to do the best that we can for you to give you the world so that you don't need or want for anything but you are so loved already and we are going to give you all the love in the world. I'm sorry about your brother," I say with tears in my eyes, "but he got his wings before any of us were ready and he now sleeps with the angels but he will always be your angel, watching over you and helping to keep you safe. I know you two probably already formed a bond inside your mommy's tummy and I am sorry that bond was broken but he's always going to be in our hearts. I love you, M. You're everything we have been waiting for but your mommy and I are going to be new at this parenting thing so be patient with us because we are going to be learning as we go like I'm pretty sure your mommy doesn't know how to change a diaper yet because she hasn't had that practice but I know you'll make her a pro me on the other hand I have changed tons of diapers but I never had a baby of my own so being a daddy is something I need to learn to be and I promise I will be the best dad to you that I can be," I say before I kiss her stomach again.

"You're going to be an amazing, Daddy," says Audrey with sleep in her voice and her eyes closed followed by a protesting moan. "And I know how to change a diaper," she says making me smile. "I just don't have as much practice as you do."

"You'll learn," I say with a smile as I stretch up leaving my hand on her stomach to lay next to her. "And you'll be a good mom I know you will," I smile. "I'm sorry if I woke you up."

She lets out a soft sigh and smiles, "it wasn't you that woke me up. The baby woke me up. I don't know what all you said to him or if it was just your voice in general but he is moving up a storm right now. It's like he is flipping everywhere."

"Aww," I say with a smile, "I can't wait to feel him move. Is he active?"

"More so in the morning and the late afternoon, late morning and night time he seems to be asleep I hope that it stays like that after he's born so we can sleep but I doubt it."

"I see," he says, "when did you start feeling him move?"

"A couple days now," she says, "and it is the most beautiful feeling in the world just like knowing you're carrying a life inside of you there is nothing more beautiful. He's a pretty active little guy and I can't wait to meet him. I think he's going to have a lot of hair with your Samoan genes and my Italian genes he's going to have so much hair and if this heartburn is any indication we are going to have a wholly mammoth," she says making me laugh.

"If there is one thing to be said about Anoa'i babies it is they don't lack hair when they are born or ever in their lives," I smile as she runs her hand through my hair.

"You do have beautiful hair," she smiles. "It's so soft and it always smells like coconuts. I just love it. I am jealous at how nice your hair is."

I smile and chuckle, "it's all about those Samoan genes and it's all about the conditioner."

"Shut up," she smiles.

"Facts," I say with a smile before I lean over and kiss her lips. "So were we serious about moving to Pensacola?"

"I am pretty serious about it," she says, "as long as you are. I love Pensacola and I miss it. I thought about raising our son here and while it would be great to do that in this penthouse we could never give him a backyard or a place to play outside. We would always need to go to the playground. It will be nice to come visit but living here I am not exactly thrilled about."

"I see," I say. "I am all for moving back to Pensacola to raise our son where we grew up will be amazing."

"It really will and to have our family all around is even better, you know built in babysitters so that we can have date nights and some time alone," she smiles.

"Mm, alone time to make more babies," I smile.

"You are so funny when M is about 3 years old we can try for another one until then I don't want to think about any more babies," she says.

"Right but we'll be about 37 years old then do you think that's safe to have a baby after 35?"

"I don't know we'll find out," she says, "but right now let's focus on M."

"Deal," I say. I stretch and let out a groan, "I have to call Vince today to tell him about my time off."

"Good luck with that," she says, "I hope that goes well for you."

"One can only hope and I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon that I have to go to so when do you want to tell our parents the news?"

"Before your appointment or after your appointment it's up to you, Joe. What do you think is best?"

"After," I say, "how long do you think your dad and mom will be staying with us?"

"I don't know are you still afraid of my dad?" she asks with a smile.

"A little bit," I say letting out a sigh. "He does seem happy we are getting married though."

"Because he likes you," she says, "and he wants the best for me and they don't get any better than you, Baby," she says.

"That's so true," I smile.

"So humble," she says with a smile.

"Are you hungry, do you want some breakfast?"

"No, I actually think I want to go back to sleep for a little while longer. I'm still exhausted from the last couple days and I just want to catch up on some sleep then I think this afternoon I will take my two week notice to the law office. Will you come with me and help me pack up my office?"

"Of course," I say, "I'll be there. I can meet you there right after my doctor's appointment."

"Okay, what's the appointment for you just went last week to the doctor why do they need to see you again so soon?"

"Just a quick follow up," I say. "It's nothing more than that and I had some tests done last week the doctor just wants to give me the results."

"The only time a doctor wants to give you the results in person usually mean it's something bad are you sure you're okay?"

Not wanting to lie to her I say, "I guess we'll find out this afternoon. I'm going to go get some coffee and then I am going to call Vince to get that out of the way if you need anything from me just let me know."

"All right," she says as I get out of bed. I lean down and kiss her forehead. "Good luck with Vince."

"Thanks," I say with a smile before I make my way out of the bedroom leaving her to rest.

I walk out of the bedroom and make my way to the kitchen. I make a pot of coffee and then once it's done I pour myself a cup of coffee then sit down at the island pulling my cellphone out of pajama pocket and press the home button to see Audrey's smiling face as my wallpaper. I play around with my phone for a little bit thinking about calling Vince and the words I want to say and not only the words I want to say to him but to Audrey. I'm focused on Audrey's picture as my mom comes into the kitchen startling me when she places her hand on my shoulder. "Morning, Joe."

Letting out a breath I say, "Mom you scared me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. How are you feeling today?" she asks.

"Well, I am a nervous wreck for one. I have my follow up appointment today and I have no idea how that is going to go," I say.

"I'm sure everything is going to be fine. I know it is, Joe. Have you told Audrey yet?"

"No," I say. "I haven't really told anyone but you and Pops. Audrey is already going through so much with losing Jordan and the shooting. She's supposed to be resting and taking it easy. I don't want to burden her with something I don't know yet."

"You two have had a pretty exciting couple of days. You're getting married. Isobel and are so happy for you both, we have waited for this moment. You two make a great couple and you two will make great parents."

"It has been pretty exciting and exhausting as well. I am so exhausted," I say.

"You need to slow down and rest. Where is Audrey?"

"Getting the rest that she needs," I say. "If I didn't have to call Vince or set up a vacation for Audrey and me I would be sleeping a little longer."

"Do you need to call Vince right now?"

"I just want to get it over with, there is never a good time to request a year or over a year off from your job especially now. I know they have so many plans for me but right now I have other things to worry about Audrey and M being the biggest priority."

"And yourself, Joe," she says, "you can't forget about yourself. You need to be healthy for them and you need to take care of yourself so that you can be there for them."

"I know, Mom," I say.

"Are you still going to take all that time off after your appointment today?"

"Yes, Mom. I need a break and I want to be with Audrey and M. I need some downtime to take care of myself and deal with some nagging injuries that I have been putting off and whatever else comes my way. I need this time off for me."

"Good," she says, "so you're taking Audrey on vacation?"

"Yeah we need to get some time away and time in before the baby gets here. I was thinking of taking her to Hawaii for a couple weeks just to enjoy our freedom together, relax and get away from everything but I also thought about taking a cruise with her. I'm thinking the cruise would be better than Hawaii and then save Hawaii for our honeymoon."

"I think Hawaii is better and save the cruise for your honeymoon. You don't need to be on a cruise ship right now where you are in close quarters with others and their germs."

"You're right. It looks like it is going to be Hawaii. I don't mind it. I enjoy the island."

"You always have you could take her to Samoa too."

"No, not yet. Hawaii is easier for us to travel to than Samoa." I say.

"No matter where you two go you are going to have a best time and I agree a vacation is just what you two need especially before that precious little boy comes. I can't wait to meet that little angel."

"Neither can Audrey and neither can I. Can you do me a favor?" I ask.

"Anything," she says.

"Audrey and I are going to be busy today taking care of some things and we want to talk to you, Pops and Audrey's parents do you think you can get us a reservation at a nice restaurant for tonight around 6? Make it under Anoa'i and please try your best to get us private seating so the fans aren't gawking at me and trying to get my autograph and pictures. I don't want it to turn into a circus. I want us to have a nice dinner tonight without interruptions from overzealous fans." I have nothing against my fans, I love all my fans but sometimes it gets overwhelming to enjoy time with my family or time with Audrey when we go out because there are always those that need to take pictures, ask for autographs and just interrupt us or keep watching us. I promise everyone we are no different than a normal person. We still shop at Target and shop at Walmart sometimes and we still check the produce at grocery stores. We are just as normal as anyone else.

"Absolutely," she says. "What are we in the mood for?" she asks.

"How about Mexican? Audrey has been craving Mexican food so let's do Mexican and right now I really need to book this vacation to Hawaii and call Vince before I go to the doctor."

"All right," she says. "I'll take care of the reservations you just take care of you, Joe."

"I will, Mom. Don't worry about me."

"After what happened with your brother I am always going to worry about my baby boy. I love you, Joe," she says with tears in her eyes.

"Mom, don't do that. Don't think negatively just think positively for me okay?"

"Okay," she says. "I love you, Joe."

"I know, Mom. I love you too," I say before she wraps me up in a tight hug as I hug her back. I let out a sigh as she breaks the embrace giving me my privacy to do what I need to do. I pick up my phone and most people would call their boss first to take more time off but not everyone has Vince McMahon as a boss and not everyone is supposed to be the face of a multi-billion dollar company so I decided to call and book our two week vacation to Hawaii set to begin the last weekend of May until the second weekend of June.

I have no other choice as I look at my phone still focusing on Audrey's picture I let out a sigh and click on my contacts. I scroll through them and find Vince's name. I hit the call button and place it on speaker phone just as Audrey comes out of the bedroom as if she knew I needed her support for this phone call. She sat down next to me at the island as Vince answered the phone, "Joe, what can I do for you? Are you ready to come back?"

"Good morning to you too, Vince," I say as Audrey rubs my back softly. "Not exactly but I did want to talk to you about time off."

"All right, how is Audrey doing and the baby? Everything good?" he asks.

"Yes, Audrey is getting better day by day. And the baby is doing great it won't be long before he comes."

"I'm happy to hear it, when do you think we will see you back in the ring?" he asks as Audrey gives me a kiss of strength on my shoulder.

"About that," I say, "There is no easy way to say this, Vince so I am just going to say it. I need more time off. I want to take more time off."

"How much more time are we talking here?" he asks defensively.

"I was hoping on 12-15 months of being out of the ring, to take time off to focus a little more on me and my family," I say wrapping my arm around Audrey.

"12-15 months is a whole hell of a lot of time off, Joe. We have Summerslam coming up and we wanted to put the belt on you at Summerslam," he says. "We have plans for you to face Brock and to get that championship belt. And then we are planning a Shield reunion when Dean comes back in August. We are already planning some great stuff for you and you would hold the championship until at least Mania where you would lose it to either Brock or Braun we haven't decided that yet. We have a good feud in the making for you and Braun, Joe. There is so much to be done in your career you would miss Wrestlemania! You're the face of the company and you want to take 12-15 months off of work? That's crazy. I was all right with giving you this time off to be with Audrey but expected you back in a couple weeks and then giving you time off when your son is born now you don't want to come back for at least 15 months?" he asks. "That's insane."

"Vince, I know it's a lot of time and you have plans for me but there's a lot going on in my personal life I need to deal with and take care of. I am getting burned out from working so much and I haven't had a day off in nearly a year. I worked Christmas for you and gave up time with my family and my girlfriend. I have personal issues I need to deal with and take care of. I can't explain it all right now but I will later this afternoon. Please I'm just asking for 12-15 months off to focus on my health, my family, my fiancée and my son. We just had a terrible loss and my fiancée is still healing from the shooting. I just need time to focus on us. Please, Vince, I wouldn't even be asking you this if it wasn't important to me. Like I said we can talk more this afternoon but right now please just understand I need this time off," I say.

"Joe, we will talk more about this, this afternoon. I just want you to think about your request while I take it into consideration and run it by creative. You're asking for a lot of time off so we need to discuss it and then I can get back to you or you can get back to me this afternoon."

"All right," I say. "I will talk to you later," I say. "Have a good day."

"We'll see," says Vince before he hangs up the phone.

"Well, that went about as well as I thought it would," I say to Audrey.

"Joe, what is going on? You wouldn't just request over a year off of work so what's going on and what's this whole doctor appointment about and getting back to Vince this afternoon? What are you not telling me, Joe," she says.

I let out a sigh and say, "there is just so much going on Audrey. I know you're going through a lot, we're going through a lot and sometimes in life there are a lot of curve balls, a lot of things you don't see coming and this is something I didn't see coming."

"What, Joe," she asks, "what didn't you see coming?"

"Remember when I was 22 years old? Remember when I had leukemia back then?" I ask, "but I was soon in remission."

"I remember," she says with tears in her eyes as I see the realization hitting her. She knows. "It's back isn't it?"

"I don't know, Audrey. I want to say no but honestly I don't know. I haven't been feeling that great and I have been really exhausted lately. I thought it was just the shooting and the stress of losing Jordan but then I started to see other little signs and went to the doctor. They did some tests and they have the results. I just don't want this fight again. I am finally happy for once in my life. We're getting married we're having a baby and we are moving back home. I do not want this in my life right now and everything has been going so good. It's not the time," I say.

"But we don't know anything yet, Joe, so don't get worked up maybe you are just exhausted from everything going on and if it is more than that you've got me Joe, you've got my family and your family that love you and support you. You will not go through it alone," she says, "I promise you."

"Audrey, I don't want to be a burden to you."

"You will NEVER be a burden to me," she says, "NEVER. You're everything to me and the father of my child. If you need to fight you're not fighting alone just know that, Baby."

"I love you," I say hugging her tight.

"I love you too," she says. "so you know you're not going to that doctor's office alone right?"

"I was going to ask you anyway I just didn't know what to tell you and didn't want you to go and find out from the doctor before I told you."

"Yeah, that probably wouldn't have been good," she says, "but we're in this together."

Later that afternoon Audrey and I arrive at the doctor's office. I am beyond nervous as we wait to see the doctor. I can't keep my leg from bouncing and I can't keep myself from fidgeting all around. Audrey tries to calm me by holding my hand but it doesn't help much. I won't be relaxed until I hear the news I want to hear, the news I need to hear. I nearly shoot up from the chair as I am called to the back. Audrey and I make our way to the office where we wait for the doctor. It takes a few minutes before the doctor walks in with his file. He greets us cordially shaking our hands with a serious face before he takes a seat behind the desk. He opens the file and looks up at me. He says, "Joe, the results are in from your tests…."

 ***A/N: So I have been battling this idea for a couple weeks now debating with myself if I want to go there or not.. it has been a very tough decision and yet my mind is still not made up on what to do or where to go with this. I am counting on your feedback and your opinions to make my final decision. So what do you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	22. Chapter 22

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated.***

 **JOE**

My grip tightens onto Audrey's hand as I wait for the doctor to finish his statement. My heart races as I wait for the news of my test results. I feel her squeeze my hand back as he continues on with his statement. "Joe, I have the results of your tests," he says.

"It's bad isn't it?" I ask nervously. "It's back isn't it?" I ask.

He clears his throat and nods, "I'm afraid so. Your Leukemia is back and I am sorry," he says. "That's the bad news," he begins.

"So there's good news that can come out of this?" I ask. "I am about to be a father. I am getting married next year. It's not the time for Leukemia to come back, it's not time to undergo treatments and fight. It's not time," I say with tears in my eyes. "I wanted to take a trip with my fiancée to enjoy some time alone before our baby gets here."

"Joe, I understand your concern and how upset you are," he says.

"Do you really? I am going to have a son in a few months," I say. "What if I don't make it through this?"

"Joe, we caught it all just in time," he says. "Thanks to your job performing random wellness checks and medical checks it made it easier to be caught right away rather than further down the road. If you didn't have those abnormal results to your medical and wellness check we don't know how far it could have gone before it was caught."

"What do you mean?" asks Audrey, "You knew you possibly had Leukemia and didn't tell me?"

"Audrey," I say, "I had no idea I had Leukemia until today but yes a few weeks ago WWE did a wellness check and a medical check like they do once or twice a month. I got called into Vince's office of course because of my results they told me there was something abnormal in my blood stream. I swore to them that I wasn't taking steroids or the medicine I was taking last year when I violated the wellness policy and the doctor told me that it wasn't a wellness violation a simple abnormality in the blood and he began asking me about symptoms and then told me to come to the doctor to be tested. I wanted to tell you but with everything going on with us and going on in our lives I didn't think you would be able to handle it. We had just lost Jordan and our parents have been around not to mention we got engaged. I didn't want to ruin something that was so great with the fear that my leukemia could be back. I'm sorry."

"I want you to tell me everything, Joe especially something like this. Something this important and this serious. It's not fair to keep me in the dark when it comes to something as serious as leukemia I don't care what's going on in our lives. I need to know these things."

"I know," I say. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay but moving forward I don't want any secrets between us."

"Neither do I," I say before kissing her cheek softly. "I love you."

"I love you too," she says with a soft squeeze to my hand. "So now that his leukemia is back what does that mean, what's going to happen now?" she asks.

"Because we caught it in time and in the early stages of leukemia Joe won't need such an intensive dose of treatment. We believe that it can be treated with radiation and if the radiation doesn't work or kill the cancer cells we will have to look into chemotherapy but we are positive that the radiation will kill the cancer cells."

"How much radiation will I need?" I ask with concern.

"We don't know yet," he says, "but we know it will probably take about 2-3 months of radiation to kill the cancer cells. We are going to work quickly to get this back into remission and get you back to a normal life once again."

"I know last time I had leukemia I quickly put it into remission and was ready to get my life back together. I know it will take some time to regain normalcy in my life once it's gone but I know it can be achieved. Will I need to stay away from Audrey when I have my radiation treatments?" I ask. "She's pregnant so will getting radiation affect her and our son?"

"I will be honest with you," he begins. "We recommend that you not be in close proximity with; what's your name?"

"Audrey," she says.

"Beautiful name," he smiles, "we recommend that for 3 days after your radiation treatments you are not in close proximity with Audrey. You can be in the same house but I wouldn't share a bed, kiss, share drinks, food or be intimate for three days after your treatment for the simple fact that your radiation could cause birth defects in your child and it is unsafe for both the mother and the baby."

"I figured," I said, "and my leukemia is it hereditary, should we be concerned that our son could have leukemia some day?"

"Leukemia is a genetic disorder however just because it is a mutation of your genes does not mean that it is hereditary," he says. "It's possible that your son could one day have leukemia but not because you had it but because his genes mutated."

"That's good to know," I say. "When can I begin my radiation and how much time will I need to take off of work?"

"We would recommend at least 12 months off of work because we don't know how your body will react to the treatments, how long it will take to rebuild your immune system and there is a chance that after radiation you will need a stem cell transplant or bone marrow transplant to replace what was damaged. You and I both know that the recovery during leukemia and after is a long road. I wouldn't expect to be back in the ring until next year sometime and that's given everything goes according to plan. Take the time off get yourself healthy and focus on your fiancée and your beautiful baby. Would you like to take a trip before you begin treatment?" he asks.

I look at Audrey and she looks at me with a nod. "I think that a nice vacation somewhere would be nice before everything gets chaotic." I had already booked a vacation in the coming weeks to go to Hawaii to spend time with Audrey. I want a nice relaxing time away with my favorite girl to just get away from everything the shooting, the loss of our son, my leukemia. We need this time for us to destress and enjoy each other.

"Well, when you come back from your trip then you will be able to start your treatments, we are going to get you healthy again," he says with so much optimism that even I can't be negative about it but I am also not 22 years old anymore, I may not be able to put it into remission as quickly as I did before.

"That's all I can ask for," I say with a soft smile. "At least for my beautiful wife to be and my son, they need me."

"Trust me," he says, "I know I am in a science field but I am also a man of faith. And this is what I believe. I believe that you can have all the science and knowledge in the world and it can only take you so far but faith; faith can move mountains so stay faithful and positive. Everything will be fine," he says.

"Thank-you," I say with tears in my eyes. I never heard anything so beautiful in my life. Faith can move mountains and I know nothing is impossible with God. I am very positive that I can beat this again and that I can be healthy once again. I am ready for the biggest fight of my life, and ready for my faith to move mountains.

After the appointment and getting the news from the doctor instead of going straight home from the doctor's office Audrey and I took a silent drive outside of the city to the countryside of New York. I needed to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. I needed to get away from the crowded streets and our crowded apartment. I needed time alone with Audrey, just us alone. And while the car ride out of the city was in silence Audrey kept hold of my hand as I drove offering me silent love and support. I know she's not going anywhere but I can't promise that I am not. I hate to look at it this way but life was so great one minute and the next I am told I will be fighting a big battle in my life, my biggest fight. We arrive at a beautiful private area as the sun is starting to set in the sky. I park the car and we both get out. I walk over to take Audrey's hand as I lead her to sit on the edge of a rock so we can enjoy the sun set together. "This is beautiful," she says as I wrap my arm around her shoulders as she leans into my chest, rubbing it softly. I kiss the top of her head.

"I think there's nothing more beautiful than a sunset," I say. "I just love all the colors in the sky," I say as we look into the deep red sky with streaks of orange and pink, it's a sight straight from a book. Nothing could ever be as perfect as this. Remember when we used to sit on the beach looking at the sunset?"

"Those were some of my favorite times," she says making me smile. "I can't wait to move back to Pensacola and raise our son there."

"Neither can I," I say. "It's funny I am such a small beach boy from Pensacola I never expected to travel and see the world. I never expected to become famous and to become known around the world. Sometimes I hate being famous," I say. "Because everything that happens in my life is up for discussion and I can have no secrets. I hate that the most."

"I know," she says as her arm wraps around my waist. "So how do you feel? What are you thinking?"

"How do I feel? What am I thinking, I really don't know. I have a lot of emotion going through me right now," I say. "I'm scared for one because this is a big deal. People can die from this. I could die from leukemia, Audrey. I just finally got my life in a happy place since everything happened with you know who. I wasn't happy for a long time and until everything happened with us. I'm marrying you, we're having a baby and of course life has to throw in this curve ball to remind me that life isn't fair. I don't know. I can't pinpoint every emotion I am feeling. I don't think it's fair. And the worst part is for years people in the WWE universe have been wishing ill to me and wishing bad things on me yet I have held this secret for nearly 11 years and now it's back and I'm sick."

"I understand that you're scared, I get it, Joe. I am scared too but I love you, I will always love you and I know you're not going anywhere. You're a strong man, Joe. You're probably one of the strongest men that I know. I saw you fight this before and you won, you can win again. You'll overcome this, Baby. I know you will."

"I just don't know, Audrey," I say. "Why do bad things happen to good people? I mean you're one of the best people I know and you were shot defending a man that was in jail for raping a teen, I'm a good person and now I am fighting against a disease. It's not fair."

"Life is hardly ever fair, Baby, you know that sometimes God just gives his biggest battles to his strongest soldiers. You are going to get through this, Baby and I am going to be here every step of the way. I am here for you through it all no matter what. I am going to be your biggest support system and you know our family will be there for you too and your friends as well. You're not in this alone. It's okay to be scared. I'm scared too but I know you're strong and I know you're a fighter. You're a champion. You can battle this and win. I know that you can."

"Thank-you, Baby Girl," I say with a smile. "I love you so much." Tears burn my eyes as I hold her in my arms. To know that there will be some days and some nights during my treatments that I won't be able to hold her or even be around her closely pains me.

"I love you too," she says as I hear her voice crack. "I love you so much, Joe. We're going to make it through this."

"I know, Baby girl. I am not looking forward to telling my mom after everything with my brother. This is not going to be easy for her. She knew I was getting tests done and that damaged her emotionally and worried her a lot but now having to tell her that I have leukemia is going to break her heart. I don't know if she is going to be able to handle it."

"I know but she loves you so much," she says. "You're her baby boy. She's going to be worried and she's going to hurt but she is going to support you. You know that."

"I know," I say. "And I am going to have to tell the WWE universe the news. I can't keep this from them."

"I understand," she says. "You going to be okay?"

"I'm going to try," I say. "How are you feeling about it?" I ask.

"I don't know. I am worried about you because I know this isn't going to be easy and I know there can always be a negative. I'm scared but I am trying to stay positive for you. I don't want you to leave me, Joe. I don't think I could live without you."

"Baby Girl, I am not going anywhere. You're stuck with me for life I mean I told you yes so you're kind of stuck with me. And you can be outnumbered in our house between me and our son," I say with a smile. "I think you're going to have your hands full."

"You do realize I grew up as the only girl out of 5 kids right? I'm used to being outnumbered. There is a reason I wanted a son and not a daughter. I couldn't raise a mini me. I would much rather raise a mini you. I can handle living with my two favorite guys in the world," she says as I place my hand on her stomach. "He loves you so much already."

"Does he?" I ask as I rub her stomach. "And I guess you make a good point. God, I can't wait for my life of forever with you."

"I can't wait either," she says with a smile. "It's going to be so beautiful. Everything I thought I knew before all this was nothing compared to the life we have now and the life we are going to have. You're going to be cancer free, your son is going to come into this world and we are going to be happy living in Florida, achieving our dreams. We're going to be happy together forever."

"Yeah, Baby Girl we are," I say as I hold my hand on her stomach. I feel a slight movement as I rest my hand. "Did he just kick? Was that him?"

"That was him," she says making me smile. "He's so active and he's hungry just like I am hungry. What time are we meeting our parents for dinner?"

"I think pregnancy looks good on you, Audrey. You're glowing and there's nothing more beautiful in my life than seeing you carry my child a life we created together inside of you. As for dinner we are supposed to be there by 7 that's the earliest my mom could get. I hope that's all right?"

"Baby, as long as M and I get to enjoy some salsa, tacos and quesadillas with salsa and lots of sour cream we're good," she says making me smile as I continue to feel our son kick.

"Craving?"

"Yes," she says. "I can't eat anything sweet but that spicy food despite all the heartburn is where it's at."

I let out a soft laugh forgetting about the news for a short time that I received from my doctor. "He's so active and it sounds like he has his daddy's appetite."

"He certainly does," she says with a smile. "Joe," she says.

"Yeah?"

"I know our moms are going crazy with wedding planning and planning our wedding. I know they are excited for next year for us to get married but what if we didn't wait until next year. What if we got married when we go away on our trip?"

"You don't want a big wedding?" I ask.

"I did, I mean I do but I don't want to wait over a year to get married," she says. "Life lately has taught me that we shouldn't wait. We shouldn't wait for anything. We should take risks and we should do what we want. I don't want to wait a year for a wedding. I want to marry you when we go away, can we do that?"

"What about our parents planning our wedding next April? Don't you think they will be upset?"

"They don't have to know," she says. "Or we could invite them to come for our wedding. I just don't want to wait. We can make it official now so that we are married before M comes and just in case anything happens.. I think we shouldn't wait. I want to do it now."

"I don't object. I'm actually happier just getting married for us and not making a big show about it. Remember I tried to plan a wedding before? It wasn't fun with the colors and all that stuff. I want something intimate for us. Something special for us," I say. "I think I can make arrangements but you need a dress and we need to obtain a license but remember I am a famous guy, it won't be a secret for long since marriage records are public record. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I've never been more sure in my life of something, Joe. I am ready to become Mrs. Romano-Anoa'i. I'm ready to be your wife as long as you're ready."

"Baby Girl, I've been ready. Let's do this," I say.

"I thought you would see things my way," she smiles. "I love you."

"I love you too," I say as I kiss her lips softly and passionately sealing the deal between us that we are going to get married in paradise. I can't say I don't agree with her. I don't want to wait a year to be married. I want to get married as soon as possible just because of everything going on. Without her having those legal rights as my wife she can't make certain decisions about my life and she can't find out any medical information on me just like I couldn't for her but it's not even that. I just love her so much I am ready to make her my wife. I hesitantly break the kiss, "I think we should get going, we have reservations with our families and I have some news to share with them."

"Ugh," she says. "I don't want to leave just yet."

"Neither do I but in a couple weeks you will have me all to yourself in paradise and you'll become my wife but we really need to talk to our families."

"I know," she says, "just one more kiss?"

"I can't argue with that," I say as I kiss her once again before we leave to head back into the city so we can enjoy dinner with our parents and tell them about my leukemia. It's going to be hard but it's something I have to do before I announce it to the world.

 ***A/N: So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading. I do ask that you leave some kind of feedback. It's really important to me even if it's one word or one sentence it means something to me.**

 **Also if you haven't check out my new Roman story Lives Entwined.**


	23. Chapter 23

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

"You ready for this?" asks Audrey as we stand outside of the Mexican restaurant we are meeting our parents at for dinner as I reach for the door.

"Of course I am not ready for this because it wasn't easy the first time I had to tell my mom and dad that I had leukemia but now I am telling your family too. It's never easy," I say.

"I know, Baby," she says touching my arm, "but I am here with you and you're not in this alone. We are going to make it through this and our families are going to be just as supportive," she says. "Relax."

"I'm trying," I say before giving her a quick kiss on the lips before I open the door allowing her to walk in before me. Once she's through the door I place my hand at the small of her back and guide her to the hostess stand. "Anoa'i," I say to the hostess.

"Your party is already here," she says, "follow me." I guide Audrey between the tables until we reach a private dining area where both of our families are sitting there. She hands us our menu and tells us the waiter will be by now that we have arrived.

"Sorry we're late," I say as Audrey and I take a seat in the two empty chairs. "We had to make a couple stops on the way here."

"It's okay," says Isobel. "Audrey, I am sure you're hungry. I ordered you an appetizer of chips and salsa, I figured you would want to eat."

"That sounds amazing," says Audrey as she looks over her menu. "I am always hungry."

"I bet," says my dad. "You are pregnant with an Anoa'i I am sure that boy has a big appetite," he laughs as I wrap my arm around Audrey's shoulders.

"YES! I am always hungry, he does have a big appetite. I have no idea how I am going to get my body back after this pregnancy. It's going to be so hard."

"Yeah because you want to be able to fit into your wedding dress, we won't have much time from the time you have the baby until you and Joe get married," says Isobel. Audrey and I look at each other because we had agreed to get married when we go to Hawaii in a couple weeks. "Wait, what's the look for?" she asks and I clear my throat.

"Well," says Audrey as I stroke her shoulder blade with my thumb drawing circles. "I don't think Joe and I are getting married next year like we had originally planned. I know we have a date picked out but Joe and I did some talking tonight and we are changing the plans. We actually want to move up the wedding," she says.

"Okay," says Isobel, "Monica and I can work with that, when were you thinking?"

"Yeah any date is fine we can make it work we will just need to adjust some things," says my mom.

"We are actually thinking about May 26th," says Audrey.

"Of 2018?" asks my mom. "You mean May 26th of 2018? As in about 2-3 weeks from today. There is no way we can plan a wedding in two weeks."

"And how are we going to find a venue in such a little time?" asks Isobel before the waiter arrives with the chips and salsa. We order our drinks and our food before continuing on with the conversation maybe some good news before bad news will work best for everyone. I know I am especially happy to be making Audrey my wife in a couple weeks. It's inevitable why wait. "There's so much we need to do that needs done in more than two weeks, what about a cake? Flowers? A priest to marry you both? And you need a dress Audrey. Did you forget about that and it's going to be hard to find a dress this far into your pregnancy that will fit."

"Mom," says Audrey, "we already have a venue. We are going to get married on a beach in Hawaii when we go. Something came up and we don't want to wait until next year especially when we don't know what the next few months are going to bring," she says placing her hand on my thigh under the table. "I don't want to wait and I understand there's still a lot to do. I am sure I can find a dress in just enough time and someone to make a cake for us. I think we will be all right. I know this isn't the big wedding we imagined but it is the perfect wedding we imagined; just Joe and me," she says.

"And what about us?" asks her dad.

"Dad, let me finish," says Audrey. "It's going to be a special day for us and we want you all to be a part of it. We couldn't get married without our families present. Joe and I will pay your expenses to come to Hawaii for the day of our wedding because we want y'all there with us to watch us say I do and to celebrate with us. I know it's not what we planned but it's what we want and maybe next year we can have that big wedding we have been planning for but I don't want to wait a year to make Joe my husband. And Dad, I want you to walk me down the aisle. It will just be a small private wedding ceremony for family. So what do y'all think?"

"I honestly don't care how big or how small the wedding is," says my mom with a smile, "what I care about is you two being happy and being married. We have all waited for this day to come we almost thought it wouldn't come until you surprised us over Christmas. I speak for Sika and myself we will not miss that special day."

"Neither will we," says Isobel.

"And Audrey, of course I will walk you down the aisle, I couldn't imagine giving you away to a better than man than Joe. I'm happy for you both."

"Thank-you," I say with a smile. "That means a lot to me," I say.

"And me too," says Audrey with a smile. "Joe and I are working on the details of getting everything planned out, to reserve a private area of the beach for the ceremony and secure a priest to marry us. We'll order a cake but I am going to need both mom and Monica to come with me to find a dress before we leave for Hawaii."

"Of course we will come with you," says Isobel with a smile, "we wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I know," says Audrey, "but there's more."

"More?"

"Yes," she says. "Joe and I are planning on moving home."

"You mean to Pensacola?" asks Isobel.

"Yes, to Pensacola," she says, "I am quitting my job and we are leaving New York. I want to raise our son in Pensacola like we were raised and going to the beach but most importantly around our families. We all live too far away from one another and we want to be closer because let's be honest this is our first baby and we are going to need some help and the only way you can help us is by us moving closer. I love New York but I want something a little quieter and peaceful for us and the baby. I want a house. I want to help out with the restaurant down there and hopefully be able to open my own restaurant someday. We just want to be close to y'all back in our hometown."

"That would be wonderful!" they beam. "It will be great to have you home," says Isobel. "Both of you, Pensacola is a great place to live."

"It always has been," says Audrey, "and I lost sight of that but now I am ready to move back home with my soon to be husband and our son. That's what I want, rather what we want. And Joe is going to be taking some time off from WWE for a while."

"He needs to rest," says my mom giving me a look. I know that she already knows the news. She's just being polite waiting for me to announce it.

"I thought things were going well for you, Joe," says her dad, "why are you taking some time off?"

And I realize it's my turn to do all the talking. I clear my throat as Audrey gives me silent support by squeezing my thigh softly under the table. The meal arrives just as I am about to speak so I wait for everyone to be given their meal, the waiter to walk away and everyone to dress their food as they need to before I finally get the chance to speak. "Well, long story short a few weeks ago I had my monthly wellness policy check done and they found something abnormal in my blood. I swore to them I had done nothing to cause the abnormality and the doctor told me it wasn't drug related it was health related and told me to see my doctor. I did, I went to get some tests and I have been waiting for the results until today. I have leukemia again. I have been in remission for 11 years and my leukemia is back. I wasn't expecting this and I wasn't ready for this to happen especially not now but it is happening and the best thing I can do for Audrey, the baby and me is focus on us and my health. I am taking time off work to get the treatment that I need to be healthy again. I don't know how long treatment is going to take but hopefully I can put this all into remission as quickly as possible and get back to a normal life. It's going to be a hard few weeks and months but I know I have Audrey's support," I say with my voice cracking. "And with her support I know I can get through anything and everything. We are going to fight through this together to get me healthy there are going to be times we can't be together due to her being pregnant and the treatment of radiation but I know she will still be supporting me when she can't be there. I am choosing to be optimistic about this and focus on the positive. I hope it all goes quickly but I am ready to have this fight again."

"Wow, Joe," says Audrey's father. "I had no idea. If you need anything, you or Audrey, if either of you need anything do not hesitate to ask. Isobel, Audrey's brothers and I are here for you and we are going to help support you in this time. Anything we can do please don't hesitate."

"Thank-you," I say with tears blurring my eyes.

"Joe, you did this before," says my mom with tears in her eyes. "I know you can do this again. You are going to do this again you're a warrior. Take all the time you need off work, don't worry about hurrying back to work and hurrying to get back in the ring. Take this time off to focus on you, your health and your family. Wrestling is always going to be there, your son isn't always going to be a newborn. Focus on what's most important right now," she says.

"I plan to mom, right now I just need all the love, support and prayers I can get. I have to tell Vince the news and let him know I am taking time off. It's going to be hard but I'm up for the challenge, losing isn't an option. I have a beautiful son on the way and I have a beautiful wife to be. I have to fight my hardest."

"You got this, Baby," says Audrey as I hold her close. "We're all here for you and we support you. We are going to fight with you." I lean down and capture her lips with mine, kissing her deep and passionately not caring about who's around. I love this woman more than anything her love and support mean everything to me.

We enjoy a decent dinner, as decent as it can be after announcing I have leukemia. We of course changed the subject as our parents suggested houses in the area that would be good for us to move to when we can finally get to Pensacola to go look at houses. Once dinner is over we go back to the penthouse and I am wiped out. It takes no time before I am fast asleep and the next day I call Vince to tell him I want to talk to him at RAW this coming Monday in person so I can tell him the news and hopefully be able to announce it to the WWE universe on TV so they hear the news from me rather than somewhere else. Audrey agrees to come with me to RAW in Rhode Island so I can make this announcement. I need my support system with me. I need and want her to be with me as I announce my time away from the ring. It seemed a lot easier before I knew the truth as to why I need to take time off.

Monday afternoon I arrive at the arena with Audrey and none of my wrestling gear to talk to Vince and tell him the news. I check in with security and make my way through the backstage area holding Audrey's hand as we pass a few of my friends I say hi to them and engage in small talk as I introduce them to Audrey. "Roman," says Seth as I run into him. It's so hard not telling my best friend the news. I want to but I can't tell him yet. "I didn't expect to see you tonight. Are you back? I didn't know that you were coming."

"I'm actually here to talk to Vince about something. I am not competing or anything."

"Gotcha, a meeting with Vince, is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Well, I hope it's a good thing. I just need to talk to Vince about some things," I say. "I have some stuff to tell him."

"I see," says Seth. "How are you, Audrey?"

"I'm okay," she says.

"I'm sorry about everything that happened to you," he says.

"It's okay," says Audrey. "We're getting through it."

"That's good to hear. So since you two are in town would you two like to go out to eat after the show tonight?" he asks.

"As great as that sounds," I say. "I am going to be leaving before the show is over tonight to get back to New York. Audrey and I have some stuff to work on."

"Maybe next time," he says, "well, I will see you later. I have to go over my script for tonight."

"All right," I say with a nod. "I'll be talking to you soon."

"All right," he says before we walk our separate ways.

"You know you should tell him before you publicly announce it," says Audrey as we walk to find Vince. "Seth is your best friend and I think he deserves to know before you announce it to the world."

"I can't, Audrey. It's hard enough telling Vince to his face. If I tell Seth I am going to break down. He'll find out when everyone else does."

"All right," she says. "Do it your way but I think he might feel a bit offended if you don't tell him."

"I think he will understand," I say.

"Okay," she says.

We arrive at Vince's office. I knock on the door and he barks for me to come in. I open the door to see him sitting at a desk with glasses on looking like he is going over tonight's show. "Roman," he says, "pleasure to see you."

"Hello, Mr. McMahon," I say. "I wanted to talk to you about those results we discussed a few weeks ago."

"Please have a seat," he invites. Audrey and I take a seat in the two chairs by his desk. He puts the script down and says, "so I should assume this probably isn't a good visit and you didn't get the results we were hoping for?"

"Not exactly," I say as Audrey holds my hand locking our fingers together. "It's back, my leukemia is back and I need to take some time off to put it into remission and get my body healthy again. I need time to focus on myself, Audrey, our baby and my health. It's hard for me to say this and I am not quitting I just need to take time off. I was thinking 12-15 months at the most, 12 being the least. I don't know what all is going to happen with my treatments, how long it will take for myself to go back into remission and how long to recover after it does."

"I think 12-15 months is perfect, I want you to focus on your health and getting healthy. If you need any more time off please let me know and if there is anything I can do for you please don't hesitate to ask for help. WWE will pay all medical expenses and we can get you into the best doctor to get you the best treatment," he says surprising me. "You're a good man, Roman, you're a hard worker and you're dedicated. I need you to be dedicated to you and your health. Take your time, don't rush coming back. Take it easy and make sure you're 100% before you come back and while you're off enjoy your new baby and your beautiful fiancée enjoy your life."

"Thank-you, Vince," I say with tears in my eyes. "I also wanted to know if I could make an announcement at the beginning of RAW tonight. I mean if that's possible. I think I owe it to the fans to let them know what is going on."

"I think that's a fantastic idea, take the time you need to tell the WWE universe we will give you the opening of the show."

"Thank-you," I say as I stand up. "Thank-you so much, Vince."

He stands up and rounds the desk, "you don't need to thank me, thank-you for coming to me and telling me this. We will get you the best doctors and the best treatment at no cost to you," he says. "I just need you to focus on your health," he says.

"I will."

"That's all I ask," he says before wrapping me up in a tight hug and I hug him back. "You're an ass kicker, Roman, you'll kick cancer's ass too," he says with a pat on the back.

Later that night just before RAW goes on the air I am pacing behind the curtain waiting for my music to cue, Audrey is standing there waiting for the same thing and soon Seth comes up to join her along with Dean who has been out on injury. I'm very surprised to see him here tonight. "Dean?" I ask.

"Yeah, what's up, Vince hurried to have me fly out here today from Vegas. He sent his private jet for me. He said I needed to be here for the opening of RAW."

"Yeah me too," says Seth, "he told me to stand by the curtain because Roman is going to need me after the start of RAW. What's going on Roman?"

"I can't tell you," I say feeling bad not telling my two best friends the news I am about to announce to the world. I don't have it in me to tell them because I know it's going to break all of us. "Just promise me you won't be upset with me and you'll understand."

"Are you retiring or something?" asks Seth.

"No, I'm not retiring but I am taking some time off," I say.

"So Vince flew me from Vegas to Rhode Island because you're taking time off?" asks Dean, "something doesn't seem right about all this."

"Just trust me please?" I ask.

"Okay," they say together.

"Audrey," I say, "do you want to come out with me or do you want to wait here and then come out?"

"I'll wait here," she says.

"All right," I say as I hear the start of RAW. I take a deep breath and let it out before I kiss Audrey's lips softly. "I love you."

"I love you too," she says, "you got this," she says as my music cues and I hear the arena fill up with boos. I nod before I make my way out through the curtain dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans with my hair in a tight bun at the nape of my neck.

I stand out in the arena on the top of the ramp as the fans boo my entrance. I take it all in as this is the last time I will be able to take this in for a long time. I look around the arena seeing nearly every seat in the house is full. I take in the boos, the cheers and the energy of the crowd. I nod my head as I make my way down the ramp to the ring. I touch fans' extended hands as I make my way down to the ring. I step off the ramp onto the black mat before making my way to the steel steps. I climb up as my heart races, my body full of energy and adrenaline. I get into the ring and walk over to be handed a microphone as Jojo announces me. I take it all in as I stand in the middle of the ring. I pick the microphone up to my lips and the crowd starts to boo. I let out deep breath before I begin talking. "First I have to make a confession," I begin as they boo. "Every week I come out here and I talk about how I am the guy that is willing to work and the guy that always shows up ready to kick ass but that's a lie," I say as the boos die down a bit, "the truth is that guy is Roman Reigns but I am Joe and I have been living with leukemia for 11 years and it's back," I say as the boos turn to what and a lot of confusion from the crowd. "I was 22 years old when I was diagnosed with cancer 11 years ago it was the hardest time of my life. I had no job and I had nowhere to go in life. I was able to put it into remission pretty quickly and soon after WWE had offered me a job. I took it as I was coming down from a hard time. Life throws us curve balls and throws unexpected things our way and sometimes we need to face those things, stand up to them and fight them. Leukemia is one of those things and I will not be able to fight week after week," I say as I feel a lump in my throat the tears burning my eyes as I go on. "I need to fight and put this into remission. I have to thank every one of you for the support whether you booed me or cheered me you gave me a reaction and that's all that we could ever ask for as we step into the ring. I'm going to walk away tonight to focus on my health and my family to show my fiancée and my soon to be son one day that when a curve ball comes your way in life you face it head on. I'm not retiring by any means because I will be back sooner rather than later. I am going to take this time to become healthy again, fight and come back stronger than ever," I say. "Thank-you," I say as I lay the microphone down. I stand in the ring as the fans start to cheer thank-you to me and I feel my eyes burn as they blur over with tears taking in the sight one last time. I step out of the ring and make my way up the ramp. Dean, Seth and Audrey appear at the top of the ramp.

I hug Audrey first and kiss the top of her head as my tears start to flow. "I love you," she says.

"I love you too," I say before breaking the hug. Dean and Seth hug me together and I hug them back. I could see the tears in their eyes as they came in for a hug. "I'm sorry guys, I couldn't tell you."

"It's cool," says Dean in my ear. "You got this, you're going to beat this."

"You're going to beat this, Uce," says Seth as we hug it out. I feel Audrey's hand on my back rubbing it up and down. We break the hug and all three of us put our fists in the middle we invite Audrey to do the same and she places her fist in the middle with us as the crowd cheers before we make our way to the back.

Walking through the backstage area I am hugged by nearly all the RAW superstars including Stephanie, Hunter and Vince as I am trying to get my things to leave. I hug and thank everyone as they give me well wishes and positive words. Audrey and I finally make it out of the building as the camera crew stays on us as we walk to our rental car. I open the door for Audrey and close it once she's in before I get into the driver's side. I start the car as she places her hand on my thigh. "You did it now comes the fight."

"But first the marriage, then the fight," I say with a smile. She smiles back at me as I back out of the parking space.

 ***A/N: So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading. Also please check out my new Roman story Lives Entwined when you get the chance. Should I keep going with this story though? Do you want more?**


	24. Chapter 24

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you so much***

The sun shines down on the private beach Audrey and I are going to take our vows in Hawaii as I check to make sure everything is ready while my mom and Audrey's mom are tending to her in the house we have rented to stay in during our stay. The blue green water crashes down in the distance beyond the white arch we will be standing in front of to get married decorated with white tulle and colorful tropical flowers. I look over the table to see the Conch shell, the leis we need, the vase and the sand to unite us as one family. Everything seems perfect, beyond perfect. I have waited for this day for years. I never thought I would end up marrying my best friend but I suppose it was all inevitable the moment I realized she was no longer a kid when we started high school together. I wouldn't want to marry anyone else but Audrey Romano. She's perfect and beautiful, intelligent and kind hearted. She's everything I wished for my wife to be. The chairs for our parents and Audrey's brothers are all sitting 4 on each side of a beige cloth decorated with lavender tulle and tropical flowers laying on each side of the aisle. The bible placed on the table in between everything. I'm impressed. We really threw this wedding together in a matter of two weeks.

It is a beautiful day in Hawaii and there's no fans or cameras around to catch our private ceremony but our own photographer that we hired. We have gone through a great deal to keep the details of the day under wraps so no one finds out about it until it is all said and done. I stand looking out over the ocean taking in the soft sea breeze as it hits my face wearing a pair of khaki shorts, bare foot with a white short sleeved button down shirt with my hair pulled up into a tight low bun resting at the nape of my neck. I think back to the first day I met Audrey we were probably about 8 years old. Even then she wasn't like most girls. She could hold her own on the football field when she played with her brothers and me. She could knock a baseball out of the park when she was up to bat and she could strike anyone out when she pitched. She played in the mud, she played in the dirt and was never afraid of getting dirty. She used to make me laugh all the time, she still does and she was the only girl that could talk sports with me. She was just as sports crazy as me. She was a tomboy growing up never really liked to wear dresses and her mom used to always yell at her to wear a dress and the few times she wore a dress she was never thrilled about it. I remember the day she came to the baseball field with me to play in a dress because she needed to get pictures taken she had her Yankees baseball cap on backwards, her chucks untied, her knees and legs covered in scratches and bruises from playing hard. Her mom was never more upset when she came home covered in dirt from sliding into home. I knew she was something special then. She was always the best friend I could have had.

Then she grew up, we grew up and by high school she was different, very different than what she used to be. She was still into sports and enjoyed watching football and baseball, she enjoyed playing the sports too but she wasn't so much a tomboy anymore. She stopped wearing the baggy shirts and the baggy shorts and decided to wear tighter shirts, crop tops, daisy duke shorts, jeans; tight jeans, with the occasional dress or skirt here and there. She stopped hiding her woman's body and I couldn't believe how amazing she looked, how beautiful she was. She was different but still stood out from the other girls and I was automatically friend zoned by her and a lot of other guys were too but that didn't stop us from going to homecoming dances and prom together. I knew in high school that I loved her it just took some time for her to realize she was in love with me and it took us a while to realize that we belong together. "Joe," says her father interrupting my thoughts as he places his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey," I say with a soft smile facing him.

"I'm happy for you and Audrey," he smiles. "I could not have asked for a better man for my daughter. Promise me that you'll take care of my baby girl for me."

"I will do everything in my power to take care of her and make sure she's the happiest woman in the world," I say. "I love her."

"I know you do, Son," he smiles. "I have known that for a while. I wish that she would have realized it sooner but here you are today waiting for my daughter, my only daughter to become your wife. She's something special."

"She definitely is," I agree with a smile. "She's one of a kind."

"Yes she is and strong willed and aggressive," he says, "she knows what she wants."

"Oh yeah," I nod. "I promise, Mr. Romano I am going to give Audrey the best life that I can. She and my son are my entire world. I support her and love her beyond words. Thank-you for allowing me to marry your daughter."

"Please call me Dad," he says clasping his hand on my shoulder. "I wouldn't give her away to any other man but you. Congratulations," he says before we share a hug. "Welcome to the family."

"Thanks," I say.

"Now, I am going to go get your girl so you can get married."

"Thanks," I say before he walks away and makes his way to the house as I look out to the ocean one more time wishing that my brother could be here for this. "I miss you, Uce," I say to the sky. "I know you're watching over us today and you're here in spirit but you would have definitely been my best man. Love you," I say before I make my way to the arch to greet the priest that is performing the ceremony.

I stand waiting for the ceremony to begin and smile as I see my mom and Audrey's mom walking down the aisle together with my father in the middle. Audrey's mom sits on one side and my mom and dad sit on the other side. Somewhere Over The Rainbow starts to play on ukuleles Audrey and her father appear at the end of the aisle and my breath is taken away, my heart stills in my chest, tears burn my eyes and I am speechless as I see Audrey. She's standing in a white spaghetti strapped dress that falls to her ankles, the midsection exposing her baby bump there is a lace overlay, her dark hair curled partly held back with a purple tropical flower in her hair as she holds a bouquet of purple and white flowers. God, she's beautiful, tears fill my eyes as she walks with her father down the aisle getting closer to our forever. I'm nearly choked up by the time she arrives just before me. The priest picks up the conch shell from the table and blows into it to wake the sea and the earth for the ceremony. The waves crash down behind us as the ocean comes to life, a soft breeze blowing through our hair. "Let us pray," he says as we bow our heads. He begins the prayer in Hawaiian and then turns it over to English before saying, "Amen. Who gives this woman to this man?"

"Her mother and I do," says her father. He kisses her cheek softly before she places her hand in mine as he lets her go. He takes a seat with Isobel to watch the ceremony.

"Marriage the joining of two lives and two souls together in the eyes of the Lord it is a very special occasion that is celebrated among the families and among the bride and groom. Leati and Audrey have chosen to stand before their family and their God to join each other in the sacredness of matrimony, to become one family, to become one in the eyes of the Lord. At this time Audrey will you please place this lei around Leati's neck as a symbol of your unity." Audrey nods and takes the lei made from ti leaves and places it over my head. "Leati, will you please take this lei and place it around Audrey's neck as a symbol of your unity?" I nod as I take the colorful lei from the priest and place it around Audrey's neck before we do a lei exchange with our families. I give Audrey's parents each a lei as a welcoming symbol and a symbol of family unity while Audrey places leis around my parents' necks to symbolize the unity among our families. Audrey and I join hands again in front of the priest as he continues on with the ceremony. The priest reads a passage from the Bible in Corinthians that tells us everything that love is from it being patient and kind to love always persevering. "At this time I understand Leati and Audrey have prepared their own vows?"

"Yes," I say.

"All right, Leati, you may state your vows," he says.

"I swear I had everything in my mind that I wanted to say but seeing you walk down that aisle reminded me how lucky I am to love you, how lucky I am to spend the rest of my life with you. You make me feel like the luckiest man alive and give me a reason to live and fight to live another day. The day I met you I was an 8 year old boy and you were an 8 year old girl but back then I knew how different and how special you were. You were never like most girls, no other girl could tell me who won nearly every superbowl in history or discuss baseball facts with me. I remember the times you didn't want to wear dresses and hated to wear dresses but seeing you in that dress today has been my favorite dress I have ever seen you in. I never thought this day was possible. I never thought I could have you as my wife, take you as my forever and have a family with you but life and fate work out in ways we never expect. I knew the first day of high school I was in love with you. You weren't that tomboy girl that I used to know. You were becoming a woman and you were beautiful, you're still beautiful and you're one of the most tenacious and intelligent women I know in this world and I am lucky because I get to spend the rest of my life with you, loving you more each day, raising my son with you and calling you my wife. We created something beautiful whether it was traditional or untraditional we created a life together and started our family. I wouldn't want to spend my life with anyone better or anyone other than you, you're the best and no other woman would ever compare to you. I know you're going to be an amazing mom and you are going to have your hands full with Baby M and me but I am thankful that you're both in my life, thankful to be able to have this forever with you. I want to be with you through the good and the bad, fight the bad times together, rejoice the good times together, support you in everything you do and be by your side every day for the rest of my life. To watch every sunrise and every sunset with you every day the rest of my life is something I look forward to because every sunrise is a new beginning of a new day, a new start while the sunset is the ending to something beautiful, something that will live in my mind forever with the promise of something new to come, just like life every day with you is going to be something beautiful, something new and every day I am going to love you more, fall in love with you more and at the end of the day I will be reminded that I can wake up the next day to fall in love with you more and start a new memory with you. I love you, Audrey and you are my forever and no matter what I am facing, what I am going through I know you're going to be by my side every step, every day in every way that you can be." I say with tears in my eyes. I see the tears forming in her beautiful dark eyes as her thick eyelashes cover her tears as she blinks out the tears. I want to kiss her so badly, feel her lips on mind. It's burning inside of me to kiss her.

"Audrey, please state your vows to Leati," says the priest.

"I was so lucky to grow up with you as my best friend but I am even luckier to grow old with my best friend. I had never thought about having this life of a family, to be married until I realized how much I loved you and how in love with you I was. I took a risk, because there's always a risk in love and most of the time it can be worth taking. I'm glad I took that risk and said yes. It was one of the favorite yes' I have ever said to you other than promising you forever. I think about the life ahead of us, the love ahead of us and the chapters of life before us. There is nothing I want to miss with you. I never thought I wanted it all until you showed me that you were everything; my everything. Neither of us are perfect but the way we love one another is perfect and every love story I have ever heard ours is my favorite. I could tell you how much I love you but there are no words that can ever express that to you. I just love you. I love that you're the father of my children, I love that you're my forever and love that you're my best friend there's nothing better than living and marrying your best friend in this life. I promise to be the best wife I can be to you, making you proud and showing you how faithful knowing that I love you and I will love you more every day of my life. I promise to be your strength in your weak times, promise to be your rock when things get tough. I promise to support you and be by your side no matter what comes our way. I promise to be your best friend forever. I love you so much, Joe and every day I promise to love you more especially on the tough days, I promise to love you through the good times and the joyous times. I promise to love you every day of my life for the rest of my life. I love you so much," she says as her voice cracks and tears fall from her eyes, my own eyes blur over at her words and her promises. I am beyond grateful to have this woman in my life. To cherish her and grow old with her the rest of my life and to watch every football game and baseball game with her. She is my world and she deserves to be my world.

"Beautiful," says the priest as I squeeze Audrey's hand in support. "At this time Audrey and Leati are going to each pour sand into this vase as a symbolization of their unity." He hands Audrey a cup of purple sand while I am given a cup of white sand we began pouring the sand into the vase to be a symbol of our life together, to entwine our lives together. Once we finish with the sand the priest says, "at this time I am going to bless the rings." He takes a koa wood bowl which in Hawaiian the koa wood bowl symbolizes integrity and strength; the foundation of marriage. He then takes a ti leaf which symbolizes prosperity, health and blessing of the body, mind and soul. He takes the ti leaf and dips it into the water in the koa bowl before sprinkling the water over the rings three times while chanting "Ei-Ah Eha-No. Ka Malohia Oh-Na-lani. Mea A-ku A-Pau." This means May peace from above rest upon you and remain with you now and forever. The priest hands me Audrey's wedding band that I had made specially for her to match her engagement ring. "Leati, place this ring on Audrey's finger and repeat after me," he says. I place the ring on Audrey's slender finger holding onto it. "I Leati, take you, Audrey to be my wife."

"I Leati, take you Audrey to be my wife."

"Your love is my anchor, your trust is my strength."

"Your love is my anchor your trust is my strength," I repeat.

"I will give you my love from now until eternity ends."

"I will give you my love from now until eternity ends."

"You make my life complete."

"You make my life complete," I say with tears in my eyes as my hand shakes. I spoke my vows to my wife.

The priest hands Audrey the black koa ring. "Audrey, place this ring on Leati's finger and repeat after me." Audrey looks up at me and smiles as she slides the ring perfectly onto my finger. "I Audrey take you Leati to be my husband."

"I Audrey take you Leati to be my husband," her voice cracks.

"Your love is my anchor your trust is my strength."

"Your love is my anchor your trust is my strength," tears fill her eyes and mine as she continues.

"I will give you my love from now until eternity ends."

"I will give you my love from now until eternity ends," she says her hands shaking with mine.

"You make my life complete."

"You make my life complete," she says nearly breaking down but she holds it together. I reach over and wipe her tears away and she smiles up at me in that moment I know I made the right decision saying yes to her when she asked me to marry her and make her my wife. Nothing is any more perfect than this moment as the priest prays over us.

"By the power invested in me by the state of Hawaii I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride," says the priest and without hesitation I take Audrey into my arms, holding her tight brushing my lips against hers before capturing them sharing a deep soft kiss with my wife. Breaking the kiss the priest turns us to face our family and says, "I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Anoa'i." I take Audrey's hand and we walk down the aisle together.

After the wedding ceremony our photographer takes some family pictures and takes some pictures of Audrey and I together while they are setting up for our reception on the beach. The sun is starting to set in the sky as we arrive at our private reception that includes Polynesian dancers to give a Polynesian show while we enjoy our meal. We chose do it Luau style with a nice Hawaiian meal for the reception which means a lot of pork and other Hawaiian dishes. Audrey and I walk into the reception holding hands as our family cheers for us and we share a soft sweet kiss in front of them. "I love you, Wife," I say with a smile.

"I love you too, Husband," she smiles back at me.

"You want to have our first dance before we eat?" I ask.

"Yes," she says with a smile.

"All right," I say taking her hand and pulling her toward the ocean as our family follows. I wrap her up in my arms, holding her close to me as she wraps her arms around me. Perfect by Ed Sheeran begins to play as we dance together. "I love you, Audrey."

"I love you too," she says as we dance as Ed Sheeran belts out his song talking about finding the woman that's perfect for him, telling her to dive in and follow his lead talking about how she's beautiful and sweet never knowing that's the one that was waiting for him. It took us days to find a song that meant so much to us and we went through a lot of songs but nothing like Perfect matched what we have together.

I start to sing, "we were just kids when we fell in love, not knowing what it was I will not give you up this time. Darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own and in your eyes you're holding mine. Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms barefoot on the grass listening to our favorite song, when you said you looked a mess I whispered underneath my breath but you heard it, darling you look perfect tonight, Audrey, you do look perfect tonight," she smiles up at me and I kiss her lips softly as Ed sings about finding a woman stronger than anyone he knows, Audrey is stronger than any woman I have met in my life. She shares my dreams with me and supports my dreams and I support her dreams. I found someone that can carry more than just my secrets but my love and my children with me having leukemia we are fighting against all odds as we start off our marriage but I know she's beside me, holding my hand and fighting with me. When she looks up at me with her dark brown eyes I can't help but to see OUR future in her eyes, our future of living in Pensacola raising our son where we grew up in a house we bought together. I see us dealing with sleepless nights with our son, growing old together, walking our son to school on his first day of kindergarten, going to weekly football and baseball games, I see laughter and happiness, I see more children a beautiful little girl in our future, I see nothing but love and happiness when I look in her eyes. Our future is there and there is no one else in this world that I want to share my future with than her.

"What?" she asks as the chorus plays on.

"Nothing, just thinking about our life together and how much happiness I see in our future. I see you laughing with our son and playing with our son. I see everything I want when I look in your eyes, Audrey."

"Baby," she says. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," I say. "When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful I don't deserve this darling you look perfect tonight," I sing to her with tears in my eyes as I think about her walking down the aisle, walking to me, toward her future with me. I swear I met an angel and she's perfect. "You're so perfect."

"I'm not perfect, Joe," she says.

"Perfect for me," I smile as I hold her and we dance to the rest of the song ending it with a soft kiss in the sunset as the waves crash down by our feet. Nothing could have been more perfect than this day, the first day of our forever together. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

 ***A/N: So what did you think of their wedding? What about their vows? I am not even going to lie I was teary eyed proof reading it and then I put Perfect on for the dance and it really set the tone for me. What do you think? Please review and thank-you for reading. There's still more to come.. just not sure how much more I am going to write though.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

 **TWO MONTHS LATER:**

Our time in Hawaii was beautiful celebrating the first week with our family, celebrating Joe's 33rd birthday and getting married having the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen in my life. Marrying Joe was the best day of my life and it was everything I wanted it to be. I am happy to say that I am Mrs. Audrey Anoa'i, I thought about hyphenating my last name with his but I chose to take on his last name as my own. The second week in Hawaii was just the two of us celebrating our marriage and enjoying the island on our own from hiking volcanoes, watching Sea Turtles in the reef, enjoying nightly Luaus and spending time on the beach, watching the sunrise and watching it set. It all happened too fast and we were back in New York but just for a short time. We were back in New York for about a week before Joe and I found a house online in Pensacola that we thought was beautiful so we made a trip to Pensacola to see it in person. The pictures we saw online didn't even do it justice it was even more beautiful in person with 4 bedrooms, one being a beautiful master bedroom with a beautiful master bathroom with a shower, Jacuzzi bath tub, beautiful walk in closets, a living room, family sitting room, laundry room, an office, a beautiful kitchen with granite counter tops and tiled floors, stainless steel fridge and oven. There is a dining room for us to use for more formal dining settings and a fenced in backyard with an in-ground pool and enough space for a swingset for the baby when he arrives. It was amazing, we put a bid on it and in a couple days it was accepted and we had a beautiful house in Pensacola with the best part of it being just a few houses down from Joe's sister's house and a block away from our parents. We have been living in Pensacola for a month now and we are still getting settled in.

Other than moving to Florida Joe has been undergoing his treatments for his Leukemia so it's been hard on both of us as I am not allowed around him after he gets a treatment for a couple days but it really also takes a lot of out him, he's nauseous and tired so he spends the first couple days sleeping in the guest room. They have been talking about him possibly getting chemo as well as the radiation is not the main treatment. He has the best doctor on his case and his medical bills are being paid for by WWE. It's just been a long couple months with him getting his treatment but he has chosen to not start his chemo until after we have the baby which isn't for another 3 weeks at least but between his treatments and getting settled into our new home we have been planning our baby shower while Joe has been working on the baby's nursery while he was feeling his best. Our baby shower is officially today and that's the day Joe told me I could see the nursery he's been working on. I am pretty excited about seeing it. I'm in our bedroom getting dressed for the day trying to find something to wear, I promise myself if I ever get pregnant again I will make sure my ending months are NOT during the Florida summer months it's been unbearable.

I put on a white off the shoulder with black polka dots maternity dress to wear as I feel a little bit of pain in my stomach, I hold my breath before I breathe through it. I'm pretty sure it's just a Braxton hicks contraction, I have had them a lot lately in fact we were just at the hospital last week because I thought I was in labor but it turned out to just be Braxton Hicks. I don't want to hurry to the hospital if I'm not really in labor. "You okay?" asks Joe as he comes into the bedroom that we chose to paint a pale yellow giving off a nice peaceful feeling.

"Yeah, I was just having a little bit of pain nothing serious."

"You sure? You've been having those pains consistently since last night. Maybe we should blow off the baby shower and go to the hospital to make sure everything is all right."

"Joe," I say looking at him dressed in a black polo shirt with blue jeans and his hair pulled up into a bun, it's looking a little thinner since his treatments but his beard is growing in pretty thick. I like it and since he's not on tv he's decided he wants to grow out a beard. It looks good on him and fills out his face although I miss those dimples. "I'm fine, everything is fine. We don't need to go to the hospital."

"Well, if they come more often and start to hurt more we are going to the hospital baby shower or not," he says.

"All right," I say brushing through my hair. "Can you help me put my sandals on? I haven't seen my feet for a while now and putting my shoes on is exhausting, I'm exhausted," I say.

"Well, we are winding down to the end of this pregnancy," he says, "so we're almost done."

"Thank God, I can't wait to see our son but Joe you are not allowed to ever get me pregnant in December again. We can get pregnant in the summer months so that I am not pregnant over the summer." He lets out a laugh as I sit down on the bed for him to help me. "I'm serious this is too hot for me, my feet are swollen and I am a hot mess literally."

"I think you're beautiful," he smiles as he puts my sandal on for me. "Absolutely beautiful, but you know we need to get pregnant when we can if we can."

"I know," I say knowing that his doctor told him with the high levels of radiation he has been receiving he may not be able to make a baby again. I am fine with our son but I wish and hope that one day we can have another baby but it's all up to God and what he chooses to do in our lives the main goal is just for Joe to go into remission we can worry about the rest later. "Thanks, Baby," I say with a smile as he straps my last sandal and helps me up off the bed.

"You're welcome," he smiles, "are you ready to see the nursery?"

"I've been ready," I say with a smile, "can I see it before the baby shower?"

"That's the plan," he says before I take his hand, lacing our fingers together before we walk to the room across the hall from ours. The white door is shut and Joe puts his hand on the door knob. "You sure you're ready?"

"I'm sure," I say with a smile.

"All right, close your eyes." I close my eyes and I hear him open the door before he guides me into the room. "All right," he says, "you can open your eyes now." I open my eyes and I am amazed by the sight before me. The room is painted grey with silver and gold stars all over the room. Above his white wooden crib is a little boy sitting on the moon with the baby's name on the wall. His crib bedding grey and light green with stars on the blankets with a star mobile hanging over the crib, on top of his dresser is a shadow box of Jordan's ultrasound picture with a blue and pink heart with a baby inside of it representing Jordan at the time of his death. I nearly broke down in tears the day Joe gave me that gift but I wanted it to be in the nursery. There is a cubicle with stuffed animals sitting on top of it with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star painted over the cubicle. There is a cream colored rocking chair in the corner with a giant elephant stuffed animal sitting next to it. His changing table has all the important essentials and then Joe takes me over to the closet to show me his clothes hanging in the closet and his little Jordan booties and sneakers sitting in an organizer in the closet. I smile at the wall art around the room one that says _you are our BIGGEST and most AMAZING adventure! You LITTLE one are so LOVED!_ Then there is another one that says _I see the moon, the moon sees me, the moon sees the one I long to see, so God bless the moon and God bless me and God bless the one I long to see. It seems to me that God above created you for me to love. He picked you out from all the rest because he knew I'd love you best._ "What do you think?"

"It is amazing, I love it, it's perfect," I say.

"I'm so glad," he says wrapping me up in a hug. "You think he's going to love it?"

"I think he might," I say with a smile. "I know I do. Thank-you, Baby." I give him a soft kiss on the lips. I break it with a smile, "I love you."

"I love you too," he says, "and I figure next week we can pack your hospital bag and I can work on getting the car seat in the car."

"It shouldn't be that complicated," I say.

"I don't know, I just want everything to be perfect."

"It already is," I say, "you're going to be an amazing dad."

"Thank-you, and you're going to be an amazing mom," he says with a smile before he kisses my lips again. "All right, it's time to go to this baby shower so that our baby can be showered in love. He is already so spoiled."

"Just well loved," I smile.

A few minutes after leaving our house we arrive at my parents' house for our baby shower. I haven't told Joe that my contractions are coming more frequently maybe about every 20 minutes which is enough time for me to enjoy my baby shower. My parents' backyard is decorated for the baby shower with lots of blue and grey balloons everywhere on the patio, tied to chairs, a table with lots of gifts for us and the baby. I don't know what was left on our registry as Joe and I bought the baby a lot of things already. The food is a combination of island food and Italian food for my family and for Joe's family. We greet our friends and family when we arrive. "How are you feeling today, Audrey?" asks my mom.

"Ready to have this little guy," I say rubbing my stomach. "I feel like it's going to be really soon. I can't take this heat anymore."

"I know, it won't be long," she says with a smile. "And you're going to breast feed him?"

"Definitely," I say. "I'm going to try not that I have anything against formula feeding I feel better breast feeding him, it's healthier but it all depends on if I can produce milk and his appetite I mean after all this is Joe's baby I am sure he will be an eater."

She laughs and says, "Yeah, I'm sure. I wish you would tell us his name."

"It's a secret until he's born all we can tell you is his initials are MAA."

"That's no fun it can be anything," she says. "If you would have given us his name we would have been able to put it on the cake." I look at the cake and see it decorated with white frosting, blue border with the moon and stars in the corner and blue writing that says Welcome Baby Boy.

"I think the cake looks just fine," I say with a smile as Joe brings me a plate of food. "Thanks, Baby but I am not really that hungry. I'm still having those pains."

"What pains?" asks my mom.

"Just contraction like pain but I'm sure it's nothing," I say.

"Remember what I said, Audrey."

"I know if they get closer then we will go to the hospital, but I am fine right now," I say, "let's enjoy this and celebrate our baby boy."

"Okay," he says. We take a seat to eat and once we are done eating the games begin with seeing how big my stomach is, then the baby food game where you feed someone baby food blind folded followed by guess what's in the diaper. There's a guessing game going on how much he will weigh and when he will be born. A lot of people are guessing he will be at least 8lbs and someone guessed he will be born on August 10th. We will find out soon enough as my contractions are getting stronger and closer together by the time we sit down to open our gifts from our friends and family they are at least 5-7 minutes apart.

We are about halfway through opening our gifts that have consisted of cute little outfits and much to my dismay 49ers onesie, hat and booties, pacifiers, bottles, a breast pump, teethers, rattles, blankets, sleepers, onesies, burp cloths and so much more. I bend over to pick up the next present and feel a gush of liquid between my legs. "Joe," I say. "I think my water just broke."

"What?" he asks. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I think the baby is coming," I say. "I'm in labor."

"YOU ARE IN LABOR?!" asks my mom, "you're not due for 3 more weeks."

"I don't think the baby wants to wait for 3 more weeks," I say standing up to see the proof that my water did break.

"All right," says Joe, "let's not panic, let's get you to the hospital."

"But I don't have a hospital bag packed and I don't have his coming home outfit," I say. "I am not ready."

"You may not be ready," says Joe, "but he's ready. We will take care of that later. Right now we need to get you to the hospital."

"Okay," I say. "Okay."

"All right," says Joe, "my son is coming! MY SON is COMING!"

"You all right to drive her, Joe?" asks my mom.

"Maybe someone else could drive so I can work with Audrey on her breathing."

"I'll drive," says Dean Ambrose.

"Okay," says Joe.

"And we will follow behind," says my mom.

"Us too," says Monica. "Our grandson is coming. I can't wait for another one."

Joe gets us into Dean's rental car as Dean gets into the driver's seat. Joe sits in the back with me and works with me on my breathing on our way to the hospital.

When we arrive at the hospital we check in and they send us up to labor and delivery. I am taken to an examine room right away. They hook me up to the monitors and to check on the baby's heartbeat. The doctor comes in shortly to check on me. "I heard that you might be in labor," she says as she gets herself prepped to examine me. "And your water broke?"

"It definitely broke," I say as she comes over.

"Let me see, you still have 3 weeks to go," she says taking a seat, "but he could be early." She helps me put my legs up and takes a look, sticking her hand inside of me, I wince. "Well, I think it's time to get you to the delivery room, that baby boy is RIGHT there, you're 10 cm dilated. This is going to go quick. There is no time for the epidural. We are going to get you to the delivery room and have you start pushing."

"Wow, I didn't know it was going to go THIS fast."

"Every woman is different," she says, "Some can go fast and others can go long. Every woman and every pregnancy is different so let's get you to the delivery room."

"Joe," I say, "we are having our baby."

"I can't believe it," he says before he leans down and kisses my lips softly. "This is it. I'm going to go tell our parents. I will be right back."

"Okay," I say before he runs off to the waiting room to tell our parents as they wheel me to the delivery room and start to prep me for giving birth.

Joe runs back into the room and to my side as the doctor preps herself to deliver our son. I watch as the nurses start to get everything together with the incubator, the aspirator, the blanket. Everything is ready for him. Joe takes my hand and kisses the top of my head. "All right, Audrey, I'm going to tell you when to push and when to stop. Hopefully within a few minutes your baby will be here but sometimes pushing can take up to an hour but like I said this is going to go fast." I nod as I hold onto Joe's hand filled with excitement and joy to finally meet our baby boy. "All right, Audrey, give me a big push." I squeeze Joe's hand as I push. "All right, stop," she instructs. "And push," she says again before I push again. "Good you're doing good," she says.

"You got this Baby Girl," says Joe before he kisses the top of my head and he works on my breathing with me as I push and stop and push.

"Okay, give me one big push, Audrey." I give a big push and suddenly I feel the worst pain of my life and a burning sensation between my legs. "His head is right there, you're crowning, push again." I give her another push and then another push before I feel him between my legs. "His head is out," she says, "dad, do you want to see?" she asks.

"Yes," he says. Joe looks down and I see the tears in his eyes, "Beautiful, and that's a LOT of hair," he says. "He has a lot of hair," he says to me. "And he is so beautiful."

"All right, Audrey, push again," she instructs. I push again and keep pushing until the sounds of my son fill the room. "It's a boy!" she says, "It's a boy."

"Oh my God, he's beautiful," says Joe with tears in his eyes. "We have a son!"

The nurse lays him on my chest as I give birth to my placenta. Tears fill my eyes as I see him, he is beautiful, a mini Joe for sure with a head full of black hair. "Hey, Baby Boy," I say holding back from breaking down. "Hey," I say. "He's beautiful," I say. "We did good, Joe."

"Yes we did," he says smiling down at the tiny well not so tiny life we created before the nurse takes him to clean him up. She rubs him down, weighs him and wraps him up in a blanket, puts a blue cap on his head before she hands him to me.

"Congratulations," she says with a smile, "he is a healthy baby boy. His vitals are good and he was 7lbs 11 oz. and 20 ½ inches long."

"Thank-you," I say with a smile as I admire our son. July 31st, 2018 I became a mother. It was three weeks early but he is perfect. He sleeps in my arms as I hold him and Joe leans down looking at him with pride. "He is so beautiful, so perfect."

"He really is," says Joe. "We did it Audrey, we have a baby."

"I can't believe it. I'm a mother now," I say. "And you're a father and our child is beautiful. Hey there little guy , welcome to the world. Your daddy and me are so happy to finally meet you. We have waited for so long to meet you. You're perfect and we love you so much already. We are going to do everything to give you the world and make sure you know how much we love you." I lean down and kiss his cheek and he lets out a little grunt. "Look at those fingers, they are so long."

"They are, I think he takes after his daddy," he says with a smile. "Can I hold him?"

"Sure," I say with a smile as I hand him to him. I smile as I watch my husband and our son. I know that he is going to be the best father to him. Joe is really good with kids so I am not worried about how well he is going to do with our son.

"Hey there little guy, I'm your daddy and I can't even put into words how much I love you. You're so perfect. I have prayed for you for so long. I hope I don't mess this whole thing up but I am going to try to be the best daddy to you that I can, show you how much I love you and I will always be here for you. Welcome to the world , Baby M. I love you so much, I prayed for so long to hold you in my arms to see your beautiful face. I have so many hopes and dreams for you. You're never going to want or need anything. We are going to give you the world," he says as tears fill my eyes. "I love you, M," he says before he kisses his head softly before handing him back to me so that I can try to nurse him. He latches right on and starts to eat. When he finishes Joe asks me, "are you ready for everyone to meet him?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," I say with a smile. "I know our moms are dying to meet him so bring them in."

"All right," he says. He kisses my lips softly and then kisses the baby's forehead before he leaves to get our family.

A few minutes later the room is filled with his parents, my parents, my brothers and his sister. "He doesn't look that big," says Monica.

"7lbs is big for a baby born 3 weeks early," I say with a smile, "so he was a pretty big boy. It didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would but it all happened so fast."

"That was a fast delivery," says my mom. "So can we see the beautiful baby?"

"Yeah," I say as Joe stands next to me, "and wait until you see his hair, he has SO much hair."

"He really does," says Joe with a proud smile. "So everyone we want you to meet Matthew Alexander Anoa'i," he says with a smile as I show him to everyone.

"Aka mini Joe," I say with a smile.

"He looks JUST like Joe did when he was a baby except I think he has your nose Audrey."

"Yes, that's a Romano nose if I have ever saw one," says my dad making me smile.

"Matthew?" asks Monica.

"Matthew," I say with a smile, "we chose Matthew for a couple of reasons. One we wanted to name him after Matt because I know how close Joe and Matt were. We wanted to give him his Uncle's namesake and two because Matthew means Gift of God and after we lost Jordan Matthew was a gift and blessing to us so we really liked the name Matthew. Then Alexander was our third choice for a boy's name and it means defender of the people. So we agreed on Matthew Alexander but we want him to be called Matthew not Matt or anything else just Matthew."

"That's beautiful," says Monica, "can I hold him?"

"Yes," I say before I hand him over to her. Matthew gets passed around our families meeting the people we care about most and he doesn't even bat an eye. He's perfect and sweet everything I wanted him to be.

 ***A/N: So what did you think? What about them naming the baby Matthew, do you think everything will go smoothly or do you think they are both in for an exhausting time when they bring the baby home? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	26. Chapter 26

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

"He is so perfect," says Joe as he stands over Matthew's incubator in my hospital room as I am trying to pack things up for us to go home. I can't wait to get home to my own bed and take Matthew home to the house. It has been a long couple days since he was born. He's perfect especially those lungs, he has the best set of lungs I have ever heard on a baby. When he needs something he lets you know. He is the best eater too but I love him and every sleepless night has been worth it with him.

"When he's asleep," I say with a smile as I hand him Matthew's going home outfit; a blue and black Jordan onesie with a matching cap, booties and mitts for his hands. "He probably needs a diaper change too before you get him dressed."

"All right," he says, "I got this."

"I know you do, Baby. Just make sure you put some Vaseline where he had his circumcision. He's still in a little pain from that."

"Okay," he says changing his diaper as Matthew starts to cry just a little bit before Joe gives him his blue pacifier. "How long do you think he's going to hate being naked?"

"I don't know but he certainly hates being naked," I say zipping up the bag. "The nurse and I gave him a sponge bath yesterday it was a scream fest."

"He certainly wasn't modest on those ultrasounds but of course he's modest now," says Joe.

"If I were you I would talk less, cover that up or you're going to get peed on."

"I'm new at this, Audrey, it's going to take some time for me to get used to changing his diaper," he says.

"I'm new at it too but being peed on a few times taught me a thing or two about moving faster or at least covering it up so he doesn't pee on me. Just make sure that you point it down too because yesterday when you changed his diaper you didn't and then he peed all over himself."

"Gotcha," he says as he finishes up changing his diaper. "And that's done. I'm still nervous about getting him dressed. He is so tiny and I'm so large. I don't want to hurt him."

"You'll be all right," I smile as I walk over and wrap my arm around his waist to watch him get him dressed in his outfit. "See you're doing a good job and he's not even crying. I'll tell you he's going to be a heartbreaker someday with those eyelashes."

"I know," he says. "We created something so special and beautiful. We did really good with him. You want to make another one?" he asks with a smile.

I rub his back and say, "we'll think about that one. Let's just enjoy him at the moment. I can't think of having another baby right now, my nipples can't think of having another baby at the moment."

"Do your nipples still hurt?" he asks.

"Yes. I know they said breastfeeding would be painful but I didn't expect this and he likes to eat. It's pretty excruciating."

"I'm sorry, Baby. I wish I could do something for you. You know you don't need to breastfeed if you don't want to."

"I want to," I say, "it's just a couple days in so hopefully it gets better."

"I'm sure it will," he says. "I don't want you to freak out or anything but our house is pretty full."

"Excuse me?" I ask.

"My mom, my sisters are all at our house right now along with your mom. I think my mom and sisters are staying a few days. It's a tradition. There's a priest that's going to bless him until it's time for the baptism."

"Okay," I say, "but when I get home I just want to relax spend time with my two boys."

"You won't even need to lift a finger," he says. "My mom and sisters will take care of everything."

"All right, but what I really need is a nice shower, a really long shower."

He smiles at me as he picks Matthew up out of the incubator. "You'll get one."

"I hope so."

"Hey, there buddy! Are you ready to go home and see your nice nursery?" Matthew looks at Joe with his dark eyes through his thick eyelashes. I have never seen a baby with such long and thick eyelashes this young. "We're going to get you home, get you settled in to meet your family and then we are going to hang out while Mama gets some rest because she needs all the rest she can get." I smile at the suggestion.

"What about nursing?" I ask, "did you forget about that?"

"No, I just thought you could pump some milk into bottles. I mean those bottles are pretty close to your breast shape. The nipple is perfect. I want you to get some rest."

"All right, I'll do what I can," I say. "So did you bring the carseat?"

"Yes I did," he says. "And I even remember how they told me to put him into it and strap it." He hands Matthew to me and I smile as I hold my baby boy in my arms. Joe is right he is pretty tiny but I don't think that's going to last too long. I bounce him on my chest as I hold his head while Joe picks up the carseat. Joe has been a pretty awesome dad so far helping out as much as he can. He stayed with me at the hospital each night and I kept Matthew in my room so I could nurse him on demand. We're learning together but I think Joe is falling into the father role perfectly. I love nothing more than seeing Joe hold Matthew on his chest to get him to sleep and I can already tell he's going to be a daddy's boy. I kiss Matthew's head as he grunts making me smile. He's my boy; he's our boy. "All right, let's get him ready to go. You have the discharge papers?"

"They're right here," says the nurse as she comes in with the papers. "Everything with Matthew is looking good he's 6lbs. 12 oz. you are good to go home."

"Thank-you," I say with a smile as I hand Matthew to Joe to put in the carseat.

"And this is just a little basket that we give to all our newborns it has some diapers, wipes, baby lotion, pamphlets and etc."

"Thank-you," I say, "and we can keep the blanket and the hat for him?"

"Those are Matthew's." she says as she watches Joe put him in the carseat and then buckle him in. "Very nice," she says. "You have the chest clip at armpit level, the straps aren't too loose. And remember rearfacing is the way to go. Most doctors recommend till age 2 but it's important to max out the weight before turning him forward due to his bone structure not being mature enough to forward face before the age of 2. I know this is Pensacola but it's important that you don't put him in a winter jacket in the carseat as it does not protect him."

"Okay," we say together. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome, take care of yourselves especially that little cutie," she says with a smile. "I'm going to miss those eyelashes. Bye, Lashes," she says to him as she touches his cheek softly. "He is a cutie."

"Thank-you," I say with a proud smile as Joe and I look down at our son. "We created him, Baby."

"Best thing I have done in my life," he smiles wrapping his arm around my waist as I turn to face him, looking up into his dark eyes. "Thank-you."

"No thank you," I say with a smile. "I love you."

"I love you too," he says with a smile as he leans down and kisses my lips softly. I moan into his kiss, kissing him back deep and soft. "Well, I guess we should get going," he says.

"We're ready to go," I smile. I grab the carseat while he grabs the bags and we walk out of the hospital room.

It took Joe a couple of good pushes before he finally latched the carseat into the base. He put everything in the trunk of the car before we were on our way home. I can't wait to be in my own home, relaxing and enjoying my family. The hospital food was disgusting so I had my mom bring me her food when she came to visit plus I couldn't sleep comfortably in the hospital bed when Matthew let me get some good sleep before he needed changed or fed. I am also in need of a long shower that I couldn't take at the hospital because I was worried about Matthew waking up to nurse so I made them quick. I'm just ready to be in my own bed with my husband and to get our privacy back as much privacy as we can get since when we arrive at our home it is full of our relatives to welcome us home.

"All right, Buddy," says Joe as we walk into the front door of our home, "this is your home and this is where we live."

"He's out, Joe," I say looking at him sleeping in the carseat. "I guess he can see everything later."

"Yeah," says Joe shutting the door behind us. There were balloons out front announcing that we had a baby boy but as we walk into the living room where most of our relatives are gathered there are blue balloons everywhere and a welcome home Matthew banner hanging up. "We're home!" he says.

"Welcome home," says his mom. "How are you feeling Audrey?" she asks.

"Tired, exhausted ready for a long nap and a hot shower."

"Motherhood will do that to you," she says, "but I will be staying with you for a couple weeks along with Joe's sisters to help you two get settled in. Having a new baby is a lot of work so we're here to help out with him, help around the house and cook whatever your wish is our command and with Joe's treatments I figured you would need a little extra help."

"Thank-you so much," I say with a grateful smile. "It means so much to me."

"And I will be here too," says my mom with a smile.

"Thanks, Mom," I say with a smile as I hug.

"Let me see that little guy," she says. "I want to see my first grandson." I smile.

"He's sleeping right now," I say, "and I really don't want to disturb him because once he's asleep I want him to stay asleep."

"It's okay," she says. "I won't wake him up besides he needs to be blessed by the priest."

I sigh and say, "all right." Joe puts the carseat down on the coffee table. I bend over and pick a sleeping Matthew up out of the carseat trying not to wake him up. He stirs a little as I hand him to my mom but he doesn't wake up. He puts his tiny arm over his face as he sleeps. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, there Matthew, I'm your Glamma," she says with a smile. "I'm happy to meet you. You're a handsome little guy," she says with a smile. "Audrey and Joe, he is beautiful."

"Thank-you," I say with a smile. "Wait until we get his newborn pics back from the hospital. They were amazing."

"I'm sure," she says.

"So you're Glamma now?" I ask with amusement as Joe wraps his arm around my waist.

"I'm not old enough to be a grandma and I don't look like a grandma so I prefer to be Glamma," she says.

"No argument here," I say, "and Monica, what would you like Matthew to call you any preferences?"

"I'm okay with Nana and Sika wants to be Pop Pop," she says.

"All right," I say with a smile.

"How is he doing after his circumcision?" asks my mom.

"Miserable, it hurt him," I say, "but it's getting better."

"That's good. I could just eat him up," she says. "You two make beautiful babies," she says, "so what's next now that you have had the baby what about work?"

"I'll be working in Dad's restaurant until I open my own," I say, "but right now I am just going to chill with Matthew and enjoy some time with him."

"These are the best days of his life," she says, "it may not seem like much now but you'll want these days back when he's getting into everything and he's walking."

"I am sure and with Joe being his dad I am sure I am for my hands being full," I smile as Joe rubs my back. "I think I am going to go lay down," I say. "I know you want to do the blessing but after that I am going to pump him some bottles, take a shower and then take a long nap if you're okay with that, Baby?" I ask Joe.

"Yes, Babe," he says, "I got everything under control. I just want you to rest."

"Thank-you," I say before I kiss his lips softly.

 **JOE's POINT OF VIEW:**

A couple hours after Audrey goes to take a shower and to rest everything starts to die down in our house. I'm grateful for my family and hers but I'm also ready for life to be back to normal or our new normal. It's just complicated with me having leukemia and Audrey just having Matthew we need to find our groove again and get things back to normal. My sisters after going crazy over Matthew all afternoon decide to head back to their room while my mom, my dad and Audrey's mom stay to help out where they are needed. "Is there anything you need?" asks my mom.

"No, I think that we are actually pretty good. Thank-you so much for everything today, I think this little guy had a great welcome home."

"I'm sure he did," she says with a smile. "He is so handsome."

"Thank-you," I say proudly.

"You're welcome," she says, "are you hungry? I can make you something to eat."

"I'm good," I say as Matthew starts to fuss, "but I think this little guy needs a bottle. Would you like to hold him while I get his bottle ready?"

"Of course," she says with a smile. I hand Matthew to her and go to the kitchen to get him a bottle. I pull out the breast milk from the fridge and warm it up in the microwave. When I take it out I pour a little bit onto my hand to make sure it's not too hot for him. I walk back into the living room to feed him for the first time from a bottle.

"Here you go, Buddy," I say with a smile as I give him the bottle it takes a couple tries before he latches on to eat. "There you go." I smile down at him as he eats. "This boy loves to eat."

"Those are his genes," says my dad.

"Poor Audrey, I'm glad she wants to breastfeed him but he loves to eat and she says it's hurting. I like the health benefits of breastfeeding but I don't want it to be a terrible and painful experience for Audrey."

"It only hurts the first week or so," says my mom. "Her body isn't used to this yet and her nipples have to adjust to feeding a baby. I would say if it still hurts after a week to get it checked out."

"All right," I say, "will she always be this exhausted?" I ask as I check the ounces he drank to see if it's time to burp him.

"Joe, she JUST had a baby two days ago. Giving birth is exhausting, dealing with a newborn baby is exhausting not to mention her hormones are settling back into place she's going to be sore, she's going to be exhausted and your job as her husband is to help her the best way that you can. Giving her this time to rest is good because you two haven't even dug into parenthood yet there are a lot of sleepless nights heading your way."

"I wouldn't expect a full night of sleep until your son is 4," says my dad.

"And by then you two may be lucky if he sleeps in his own room by then," says Isabelle.

"I know I'm just worried about her," I say.

"Audrey will be fine, she needs time to rest a little bit," says my mom. "So how do you like being a father?"

"It is the greatest job in the world. I thought working for WWE was the best job in the world but the day Matthew came into the world everything shifted. Becoming a father was the best day of my life. To see and hold something I created with Audrey whether it was through love or artificial insemination means more than anything in this world to me. I never thought that I could love something so much as I do Matthew. He is the greatest gift from God. I feel I have done a lot of things wrong in my life but creating Matthew was the right thing and one of the best things I have done. I wish we could have Jordan too but that wasn't in the cards for us but Matthew is the greatest and best thing we have in our life right now and I love Audrey even more because she gave me the greatest gift in life. I spent days praying for Matthew that he would be everything I wish him to be and yet he exceeds all my expectations. He is the greatest and holding him for the first time made everything in my life fall into place. I love this little guy so much no words will ever be able to describe the love I have for him and the love I have for his mom. He's everything and she's everything they are my two greatest reasons to fight this disease."

"They are your reason," says my mom with a smile. "I'm just glad you're happy."

"How can I not be happy for the first time in years my life is where I want it to be," I say with a smile.

"I'm glad," she smiles.

Later that night I am getting Matthew ready for bed in mine and Audrey's bedroom. "Here you go, Daddy," she says with a smile as she hands me a blue onesie and a white and green sleeper with frogs on it before she sits down on the bed next to Matthew.

"Thank-you, Mommy," I say with a smile. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I just needed some rest I never thought it would be so exhausting to have a baby."

"You did a lot of hard work, you carried him for nearly 9 months and then you delivered him. I'm sure you're exhausted."

"I am but it was worth every minute of it to have this little guy. I never knew I needed something so badly until I had my two favorite guys in this whole world," she says as I change his diaper, covering him up like she told me to. "I never thought anything was missing in my life until we created him and I fell even more in love with you."

"I agree. I think my greatest fondest memory will always be creating life with you. I will never regret it."

"Neither will I," she says with a smile. "How are you feeling?" she asks.

"I'm feeling all right. I know my next round of radiation is coming but I have a pretty good outlook on everything. I'm going to fight and fight. I'm not going to let leukemia get the best of me. I'm going to fight I have a hot, beautiful wife and a handsome, amazing son to live for. I need to be around to see this little guy grow up," I say with a smile as I put the onesie on him. "And hopefully if God allows it maybe a little girl someday with you or another son."

"That sounds like a plan," she smiles.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just didn't realize how sexy you being a dad would be until I watch you with Matthew. You're already amazing with him and I know it seems like I am judging you at times I'm truly not. I think you do a great job with him already. You're going to be awesome I already know."

I smile and say, "thanks, Baby Girl. I think you're a pretty bad ass mom to him. He's definitely lucky to have two parents that love him the way we do and to have a family that loves him just as much. He's never going to question the love we have for him."

"That's all I want for him," she smiles. "Thank-you so much, I think my greatest and fondest memory with you is creating life. I love you so much, Baby."

"I love you too," I say before leaning down and kissing her lips softly. "Everything in life will fall into place soon enough. It's just going to take some time."

"I know, Baby and I can't wait to see where life with you goes. You'll always be my greatest adventure."

 ***A/N: So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	27. Chapter 27

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

It has been over a month since Matthew was born and things have been pretty crazy. Joe's mom and sisters stayed with us for two weeks to help out around the house as much as they could and to help us adjust to the life of having a newborn. I never knew having a baby would be so much work and with Joe starting his new Chemo pill a couple weeks ago to treat his Leukemia he has been down and out. While it doesn't cause hair loss it does wipe the energy out of him. He's really just been laying around the house, taking it easy until his body is used to the medicine, meanwhile Matthew is not a sleeper. He has his days and nights confused, he sleeps most of the day but chooses to be up all night long. I don't know how to get him back on a normal schedule. I don't know how to keep him awake more during the day and less awake at night. I haven't slept more than 15 hours in the last couple weeks between nursing and diaper changes throughout the night and the daytime I need to use to get things done around the house. "That laundry is really building up," I say to Joe as I sit holding Matthew as I nurse him since Joe has worthless nipples and Matthew won't drink from a bottle it really makes things more complicated. "I just don't have the energy to do it."

"I know and I am sorry that I am no use to you," he says. "I'm trying, I wish my mom and sister were still here. They really helped us out a lot."

"They really did," I agree as I take Matthew off my breast to burp him and he fusses. "Matthew you're okay," I say. "I just need you to burp for Mommy, then I can give you some more milk." I hold him over my shoulder and pat his back waiting to hear him burp. "I guess once I get him down for a nap I could do some laundry." Matthew lets out a loud burp. "Good boy!" I say with a smile before I put him back on my breast to eat.

"You look so tired," he says. "I will tell you what, how about you rest today and I take care of everything while you rest. I will take care of Matthew for you so you can get caught up on sleep."

"That sounds wonderful BUT remember this kid won't eat from a bottle and you have worthless nipples. He wants my nipples and nothing else," I say.

"Damn me and my useless nipples," he says with a soft smile. "I can manage until he's hungry and then get you, you can feed him and then rest again when he's done. I can clean up, do some laundry and I will cook you a nice dinner tonight. How does that sound?" I ask.

"Like Heaven," I smile. "Can I throw in a nice hot bubble bath?"

"Of course," he says with a smile.

"It sounds great but are you feeling up to taking care of Matthew today and all these other things?"

"I am feeling great," he says. "I've got this. I can handle it."

"Are you sure," I ask not feeling 100% confident in leaving Joe to take care of Matthew all day while I nap and rest. I don't want him to over exert himself. I know he's not feeling his best trying to fight Leukemia and getting chemo treatments. I just don't want to make it worse for him which is why I have been handling everything the last couple weeks so that he could rest and take it easy. "I don't want you to do too much."

"Audrey, you deserve a break. You've been busting your ass the last couple weeks taking care of Matthew and busting your ass taking care of the house. I am good to take care of our son. I am not going to do too much. I'm going to be a father picking up on my responsibilities. You need to take a break. Take some time for yourself and rest I will take care of Matthew. Do you think he would try the bottle? That way I don't have to disturb you."

"I mean we can try again if you really want to but I don't know how well it's going to work. I can pump and we will see."

"All right, try that and if he doesn't take it then I will come get you," he says.

"Okay," I say as Matthew finishes eating. "Go to Daddy," I say handing him to Joe. "He needs burped. I am going to go pump a little bit," I say as I fix my nursing bra.

"Come here, Big Man," he says. "You and Daddy are going to spend the day together while we give Mommy the day off. Is it okay for me to take him anywhere or do you want me to keep him in the house?"

"I think at this point he is good to leave the house besides he has a doctor's appointment tomorrow so get him out there and let him get some air in those great amazing lungs he has," I say with a smile.

"He does have a pretty good set of lungs," he smiles.

"Tell me about it," I say. "I'm going to go pump some bottles for him. He will probably need changed and to get dressed for the day do you want to do that or do you want me to?"

"Audrey, you are officially off duty. I got this," he says as he burps him.

"All right, thank-you, Baby," I say with a smile. I kiss his lips softly. "I love you."

"I love you too," he says with a smile before I walk to the kitchen to pump some bottles for him.

 **JOE's POINT OF VIEW:**

"All right, Matthew," I say standing up from the couch. "It's you and me today, we are going to have a great Father and son day but first let's go get you changed and dressed for the day." I carry him up the stairs to his nursery. I lay him down on the changing table in his blue sleeper with moons and starts on it. I unzip it and take it off of him to change his diaper. I grab a diaper from the table and put the fresh diaper under the old one so I can change him fast. I quickly take it off to change him replacing it with a new one before tossing the diaper in the trash can. "All right, Buddy, let's see what you can wear today," I say as I walk over to his drawers. I pull out a bright blue polo shirt and a pair of plaid blue and green shorts. "How about this outfit buddy, do you like this outfit," I say as he kicks his feet and smiles at me. "I will take that as a yes." I say before I get him dressed. "So we need to think about what we are going to make mommy for dinner tonight. We need to make it special," I say as I pick him up from the changing table to carry him downstairs. "She really likes Island food so maybe I could make her some type of Hawaiian food for dinner. I think she will like that what about you? I guess you eat whatever she eats. Will you like Hawaiian food?" I ask him, "Would you, Buddy?" he gives me a toothless grin making me smile. He started smiling a couple days ago and nothing has melted my heart more than seeing my son's beautiful smile.

I manage to lay Matthew down for a nap and while he is asleep and Audrey is resting hopefully catching up on the sleep that she needs I began to tackle the laundry separating Matthew's clothes from ours by colors, onesies and blankets before separating mine and Audrey's clothes. I carry everything to the laundry room and throw in the first load of laundry. While Matthew continues to sleep I tackle the dishes that have been building up in the sink, rinsing them off and putting them into the dishwasher before cleaning up the kitchen including scrubbing the kitchen floor before taking on the living room where I dust, vacuum thankful Matthew sleeps through the noise but just as I sit down to rest he wakes up to eat. I carry him to the kitchen to get one of the bottles Audrey pumped for him, I warm it up before I give it to him but he refuses to latch onto it. "Come on, Buddy, it's the same thing from Mommy." I keep trying before he finally grunts and latches on, sucking it like he hasn't eaten for days. I smile down at him as he eats.

Once he is fed I decide to take him for a walk around the neighborhood before I take him to the grocery store. Pensacola is such a beautiful place to live and I have missed it while I lived in Tampa but my favorite part is that my family is so close to us and can help out when we need them. I walk to my mom's house so that we can visit with her for a little bit. I walk into the house with Matthew, "Mom, Pops," I call out, "someone wanted to come visit."

"Joe!" calls out my mom as she meets me at the door. "You're looking so much better."

"I'm feeling so much better," I say. "Matthew and I were out for a walk and he wanted to come see you and Pops."

"I'm glad to hear that," she says with a smile, "and hello, Matthew, come to Nana," she says taking him from me. "I was looking at some of your baby pictures and Matthew is your twin. He looks exactly like you did when you were a baby except he does have Audrey's nose."

"I know," I smile. "I just love him so much but I hate how lately I haven't had the time to actually spend with him. Audrey has been doing everything and I am just trying to find a balance with this disease."

"I know it's hard," she says, "do you think the pills are working?"

"I think so. I go back in a couple weeks to find out how well they are working. I'm just ready to put this thing into remission and get back to normal life."

"Do you think you're going to go back to WWE when you're in remission or no?" she asks.

"Right now I know I am going to go back I just don't know when that will be. I just need to be cleared by my doctor and we will see. I did get an interesting phone call," I say.

"Oh yeah? What was it about?"

"I should probably talk to Audrey about it first but she's already been doing everything by herself the last couple weeks and she is burned out but it was actually Dwayne that gave me a call."

"Dwayne gave you a call?" she asks, "that's pretty big. It must be something big."

"It is," I say. "So he is filming for the next Fast and Furious movie and he asked me to be in it. I think that's great but the only downside is I will have to go to Hawaii to film this movie for a couple weeks and I don't know if I want to leave Audrey and Matthew behind for two weeks."

"I think you need to think of your health first are you strong enough and well enough to film a movie to travel all the way to Hawaii away from your doctor to film a movie?" she asks.

"I think so," I say, "but like I said I am worried about Audrey and what will happen with her and Matthew. Do I want to leave my wife and son for two weeks to film a movie and I was offered to appear in a Nickelodeon show too which means I would have to travel to California for that."

"I mean you have to do what you think is best, Joe. You need to discuss this with Audrey is acting something you want to get into?" she asks.

"I mean my main love and my first love is wrestling. I am not giving up wrestling to act in a movie. I think acting would be a great thing to add to my resume plus it will give all the doubters a reason to believe in me."

"I see," she says as she plays with Matthew. "I think you need to do what's best for you."

"My family you mean, I'll talk to Audrey about it and see how she feels if she doesn't like it then I guess it will be no and void."

"I think Audrey will support you no matter what," she says. "She is very supportive of you."

"I know but it's such a sacrifice. I know the day I return back to the ring is going to be the hardest day of my life because I am going to need to miss so much of my son's life. He's the best thing I have done in my life and I feel bad leaving him to go out on the road."

"I know it's hard but times are different now than they were when your father did it. Technology is better and you won't miss out on much," she says.

"I know but it's not the same as being there. I will figure it out. I just want to enjoy my time off with my little man," I say with a smile as I tickle his stomach. "I will figure it all out."

"Yes you will," she says with a smile.

 **LATER THAT NIGHT:**

"It smells so amazing in here," says Audrey as she walks into the kitchen ready to eat dinner. She looks so refreshed with her hair up in a ponytail something she has become accustomed to because she used to hate ponytails but she looks beautiful and she has lost some of the baby weight but her breasts remain plump and full. She's dressed in a black baby doll t-shirt and a pair of grey athletic shorts showing off her beautiful tanned legs. "What did you make?" she asks.

I smile and greet her with a soft kiss on the lips. "I made you some Huli, Huli chicken, Hawaiian style rice and grilled pineapple for dinner."

"Mmm, sounds good," she says as we sit down at the table to eat while Matthew sits in his bouncer.

"I hope you like it," I smile.

"I love Island food, you know when I open my restaurant you should be part of it you know we can serve Island food and Italian food."

"That sounds interesting," I say with a smile. "So are you feeling better?"

"I am refreshed," she says as she tries the chicken. "Joe, this is amazing. Thank-you."

"You're welcome," I smile.

"So what did you do today with Matthew, did you two have a good day? Did you have a good day with Daddy?" she asks Matthew as he smiles at her and kicks his feet.

"We had a great day, didn't we buddy?" I ask with a smile as he smiles at me. "The laundry is put away and finished, I cleaned the kitchen and the living room. We went to the grocery store together and everyone loved him. The cashier couldn't get enough of him. We went to visit Nana and Pops today on our walk. It was a pretty good afternoon and he did drink from the bottle."

"Thank God, my nipples need a break," she says with a smile, "it sounds like you had a great day."

"We did," I smile. "I just love him. He's everything."

"I know," she smiles. "We did a pretty amazing job with him. I can't believe I didn't want kids until now. He's just amazing. I love his little smile and I love his chubby cheeks and his chubby hands. I love him."

"Me too," I smile, "so there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Okay," she says.

"I got a phone call from Dwayne," I begin.

"As in The Rock?" she asks.

I smile and say, "yes as in The Rock. He is filming the new Fast and Furious movie and he asked me to be in it with him."

"That's awesome! I love Fast and Furious and for my husband to be in one is awesome! Do it, Joe. You have to do it."

"The only problem is I would have to go to Hawaii for two weeks to film," I say, "so I would have to leave you and Matthew you here for two weeks and you are already doing so much around here with Matthew I don't want to burden you."

"Joe, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you," she says, "if you pass this up I think you will regret it. I don't want you to regret something because you're worried about me. I can take care of Matthew while you're gone for two weeks. It will be practice for when you go back on the road. I know the day is going to come when you won't be here 24/7 and I will have to do it myself. This is an opportunity you shouldn't pass by. Don't turn it down for us. Are you feeling up to filming a movie with your cancer though? Do you think you can handle that and your chemo meds?"

"I think I can handle it. I wanted to start doing some simple and easy non strenuous weight training in the next week. I mean I think I can do this but I don't know if leaving you is what I want to do."

"Joe, I am supporting you in this I want you to succeed in this. I want to see you film a movie. If this is what you want to do I am not going to stop you. I can handle Matthew for two weeks. When would filming start?"

"Dwayne said filming will start in the next month, at the end of next month," I say.

"I think you should do it, wrestling isn't always going to be there. Maybe one day after your wrestling career you can get into acting. I think you need to do this. Maybe we could go with you for two weeks. I do love Hawaii."

"Maybe," I say with a smile, "Audrey, are you sure you want me to do this, should I do this?"

"Honestly, I think you need to do this for you to build up your resume. I know you're feeling restless sitting at home. I have noticed it. I know it's not easy for you to be laid up because of an illness. I know you're doing your best with Matthew but I think you need to do this to take your mind off of everything else. I want you to do this."

"All right," I smile, "I'm going to do this. Matthew, Daddy is going to be in a movie! Are you excited for me?" Matthew smiles at me.

"I'm excited for you," says Audrey with a smile, "and proud of you too. This is something big and something amazing for you. I get to be married to a wrestler and a movie star. I didn't know I could be so lucky."

"Thank-you," I say with a smile.

"For what?" she asks.

"For supporting me and encouraging me, I couldn't have asked for a better wife," I smile.

"Joe, just doing my job as your wife," she says. "I love you and I want to see you do something amazing."

"I love you too," I say as I lean across the table and kiss her lips. "So I find out in a couple weeks if the pills are working and I also find out if we can have more kids. I hope that we can because Matthew is pretty awesome. I just need a baby girl."

"I think for the most part we need to make sure those pills are working for you then we'll talk about having more kids. I just want you to be healthy before anything else and I want you to go into remission sooner than later, Baby, that's what I want. We have our whole lives to talk about having more kids but we just need to get there first and that's by you going into remission."

"I know, Audrey," I say. "I hope this is working."

"Me too but we will find out," she says. "I keep praying and you are not alone in this."

"I know and I appreciate that."

 ***A/N: So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	28. Chapter 28

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

Audrey and I sit in the waiting room of my doctor's office a couple weeks later waiting to talk with my doctor after a couple of tests I had done to see how the Chemo pills are working. To be honest at first they kicked my ass and kept me down but as my body adjusted to them I started feeling better with each dose. It hasn't caused me to lose weight like some chemo medicine can do and I still have my hair as well as my beard that I have started growing mainly because with Matthew I haven't had much time to shave and I kind of like the beard but it has thinned my hair a little bit causing me to get my hair cut from the middle of my back to my shoulders. I didn't want to cut it but it was necessary. "Are you nervous?" asks Audrey.

"I'm just hoping for good news," I say. "I'm not really nervous but I am just hoping for good news. That's all I want to hear," I say as she takes my hand into hers lacing our fingers together.

Audrey reaches up and kisses my cheek softly, "no matter what he says today I am still going to be here for you," she says.

"I know, Baby Girl," I say as she rests her head on my chest and I kiss the top of her head. "It's been a long 3 and a half months but hopefully these pills are working. Best case scenario I am cancer free and I don't need a bone marrow transplant or I am cancer free and I need a bone marrow transplant but worst case scenario I still have my cancer and need a higher dosage of the chemo meds."

"I'm praying that you are cancer free with no bone marrow transplant. I hope for the best for you," she says making me smile. She's been such a big support system in my life. It's no different than when we were 22 years old and I fought leukemia the first time. She was my biggest support system checking in on me every day to see how I was doing, checking to see how my treatments were going. I am extremely blessed to have a best friend like Audrey who became the mother of my sons and my wife for me to spend the rest of my life with. I couldn't have asked for a better wife and best friend. "I love you, Joe."

"I love you too, Audrey," I say with a smile before we hear a nurse call me back to see my doctor. Audrey and I stand up together to make our way to the back to talk with my Oncologist.

"You got this baby," says Audrey, "you're a fighter and a champion. You got this."

"Thank-you," I say as we walk into the same room I have been in a couple times since I began my treatments waiting for my Oncologist to come into the room. I have never been more anxious and nervous in my life than I am in this moment waiting to hear the news. I was scared before my diagnosis but more scared waiting for this news. I just want my fight to be over and to get back to a normal life, get ready to film my movie in Hawaii and show my son that I am strong and can overcome anything thrown at me.

A few minutes later the doctor walks in with his i-pad in his hand ready to talk to us. "Hello, Joe, how are you feeling today?"

"I think that depends on what news you have for me today," I respond.

He laughs softly and says, "how do you like the chemo pill?"

"I like it. It's much easier than sitting through a session having them put into me with an IV. At first they did keep me down and out but I am used to them now so it's not taking as much from me."

"I'm glad to hear that," he says. "How is your son doing?"

"He's doing very well, growing like a weed already wearing 3-6 month clothes at almost 2 months old he's a big boy he loves to eat."

"That's the truth," agrees Audrey making me smile. "He takes after his dad."

"He sure does and he is a daddy's boy," I say with a smile full of pride, "and he's smiling."

"That's great!" he says, "and yeah dad isn't so much a small guy."

"Not at all," I say, "He is either going to be a wrestler or a linebacker for sure when he gets older."

"I wouldn't doubt it," he says, "so I do have the results of your latest tests."

"Okay," I say. "I'm just hoping for some good news."

"I know you are," he smiles, "and I am glad and happy to tell you that you are cancer free and you are officially in remission. You put it into remission pretty fast and that's amazing. Your body responded so well to the chemo pills."

"So it's gone?" I ask.

"It's gone, congratulations you are officially in remission."

"That's great news!" I say with a smile, "Baby Girl, I am in remission."

"I'm so happy for you," she smiles before I kiss her lips softly.

"So what's the time table looking at for me to return to the ring?" I ask.

"You don't want to jump back into it this fast. You should still take at least another month off to gain back your strength and get some of your energy back. It's best that you start off slow and ease back into it than just jumping back into it. That's a way to burn yourself out pretty fast."

"Okay," I say, "I wasn't planning to return back to the ring before 2 months. I am going to Hawaii next week to begin filming a movie."

"I see," he says. "Again just take it easy and don't burn yourself out too fast. You can start training again but take it slow. I know you follow a heavy schedule but when you return I want you to just work RAW and pay per views but no house shows. Keep your schedule light so you don't burn all your energy out."

"I understand all that," I say, "and I will do that."

"I know you will," he says.

"And what about the radiation that I had done at the beginning are there any long lasting effects like will Audrey and I still be able to have kids, did it damage my reproductive organs?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have the answer to that it's possible that you may not be able to reproduce again but there's also the chance that you can reproduce. I don't think it took the ability for you to conceive away."

"All right," I say hoping that one day when Audrey is ready we can have another baby just as awesome as Matthew. There's nothing that I love more than being a dad.

After talking to my doctor and getting the best news I could have gotten today Audrey and I drive to my parents' house to pick up Matthew. I walk in the front door and call out to them that we are there. "Shhhh!" says my mom meeting us in the foyer. "Matthew is asleep and it took a while for me to get him to sleep so I would appreciate if you didn't wake him up."

"I'm sorry," I say as we walk to the living room. I smile as I see Matthew sound asleep in his carseat something we don't like to do but that's all my mom had available for him to sleep in. "I wish he would sleep like this at night."

"Me too," says Audrey. "He sleeps most of the day and then at night wants to have a milk party and a bassinet party."

"He's still not sleeping through the night?" she asks.

"Nope not yet," says Audrey, "and it's so tiring Joe and I have been taking shifts on staying awake with him. He is slowly trying to get his nights in order by falling asleep at 3 in the morning and waking up at 6 am. Soon he'll get to sleep earlier."

"It's probably going to take a while," my mom says.

"I'm aware," says Audrey, "but I'm hopeful."

"Joe was the same way," she says. "He would stay up nearly all night and sleep most of the day. I hope that he doesn't have Joe's energy level."

"I'm sure he will," I say.

"Me too," says Audrey.

"Good luck to you then," she smiles.

"Did you ever curse Joe that one day he will have a child just like him but 10 times worse?"

My mom laughs and says, "maybe a couple times and I do apologize for that but you can always have Matthew run to get you things telling him that you are timing him like we used to do for Joe. He would jump right on that and run off to get things for his brother and sisters. He was a very active kid."

"I remember," says Audrey with a smile.

"Kept us on our toes for sure."

"I bet," Audrey smiles. "Thank-you so much for keeping him."

"You're welcome, you know I will keep him any time you need me too. I need to get my Matthew fix." We both smile at her words. "So how did the appointment go?"

"It went good," I say with a smile.

"Any news?" she asks with a hopeful smile.

"Well, I am in remission!" I say happily.

"Joe, that's great news! That's wonderful!"

"I know. I was very nervous waiting to talk to the doctor but then he told me I am in remission and it was the greatest news of my life."

"I'm happy for you," she says giving me a hug, "so what's next? Are you going back to the ring or still taking some time off to be with your family?"

"I haven't really made a decision yet. I am going to film that movie in Hawaii next week with Dwayne and will be gone for two weeks. After that I am not sure where I am going or what I want to do. I would love to take more time off to be with Audrey and Matthew which are my number ones. I was thinking about taking a little more time off and returning at the Royal Rumble so that I can make it to Wrestlemania. I want to be able to get my strength and energy back. I am in no rush to get back inside the ring."

"I would honestly take my time. You're going to miss out so much on Matthew if you go back now."

"I know and that's what I am trying to avoid. I don't want to miss a lot of milestones," I say. "I feel like I can't find the happy medium. I technically asked for 12-15 months for time off so I might even go back then. I'll figure it out and make a decision but right now I am in no rush. I love my job but I am enjoying my time at home."

"I'm enjoying your time at home," says Audrey. "It's been amazing with you home to help out with Matthew. I don't know what I am going to do for the next two weeks by myself. I am a little nervous."

"Well, I am around," says my mother. "If you need help you know you can call me, if you want to take a break to take a nap I will gladly take Matthew for you."

"Thank-you for the offer," smiles Audrey. "I might have to take you up on that."

"I'll be waiting," she says with a smile. "So what else did the doctor say?"

"Well, he doesn't know if the radiation affected my ability to conceive another child. I don't know how to take that," I say, "I just want to see what happens and if it's meant to happen it will happen if not I will be okay."

"Just take life one step at a time," she says, "don't rush it just enjoy it, enjoy your wife and enjoy Matthew."

"I know I just want to live life one day at a time," I say with a smile.

"That's the best way to do it," she smiles. "I am happy for you and I can finally sleep at night and stop worrying."

"Mom," I say, "I'm okay." She gives me another hug. "I promise I am okay."

"I know but you're my baby boy and I just want to make sure you're doing well and taking care of yourself."

"I always do. I think I got fortunate because it was caught so early. The count of my white blood cells were pretty high if I didn't get tested at random times it probably would have been worse and harder to treat. I just thank God for it being caught so soon."

"I agree with that," says Audrey. "I feel the same way that if you didn't get your random tests it could have been worse when it was finally caught. I'm just thankful he won this battle and he's in remission."

"Me too," I say with a smile.

"Are you going to announce it to the world that you're in remission or are you going to wait?"

"Mom, I don't know. I think I am going to keep it secret for a while. I will announce my remission when I'm ready. I want to do it live just like I made my announcement live so that won't be until I get ready to go back but I do love and appreciate all the support I have received from the WWE universe, my wife, my family if it wasn't for all of you I wouldn't be where I am now."

"I will always have your back," says Audrey.

"I know you will, Baby Girl," I say with a smile. "And I just want to thank you for being the best support system I could have in my life, loving me through this and going through the tough times with me."

"You don't have to thank me," she says, "when I married you I promised you I would be there for you no matter what, through whatever whether it is good or bad. I am just thankful that your fight is over and life can become normal again. I love you, Baby."

"I love you too," I say with a smile before I kiss her lips softly with gratitude and thankfulness for her being by my side through it all. Every day with my leukemia was a struggle, I was scared, I was weak and I was sick, some days I didn't even want to get out of bed, some days I had to sleep all day but every day Audrey was there loving me through it giving me every reason I needed to fight. I am just blessed in my life with a great wife and a great family. They are my reason for everything, my reason to fight and my reason to live.

 **A/N: What did you think? Do you think Joe should wait to get back into the ring or do you think he should go back sooner? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	29. Chapter 29

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much.***

I stand in the airport waiting for Joe to return from Hawaii after him being gone for two weeks to film a movie with his cousin Dwayne. It's been a crazy, chaotic two weeks away from him and I wouldn't have gotten through the last two weeks without his parents and without my parents helping me out with Matthew. I am grateful for all their help and with me returning back to work at my parents' restaurant I have been working some shifts sometimes taking Matthew with me and sometimes having Monica and Sika baby sit for me. I wait to see my husband to arrive in the next 15 minutes. It feels like an eternity has passed since he left for Hawaii. I have been seeing pictures of him on social media of Behind The Scenes stuff and videos of him hanging out in Hawaii but along with that came the criticism of the fans. I think back to all the online critics; _Nice try, Vince, you still can't have Roman fake cancer and make us like him. I thought Roman had cancer, how is he in Hawaii? I think the cancer is fake, I think it's a storyline and How does Roman still have hair, don't people with cancer lose their hair?_ It goes on and on a bunch of ignorant critics that know nothing about Joe or his life. I feel like I took more offense to their negativity than Joe did. I'm upset because how dare they feel the need to say Joe was lying about having leukemia, to say that it was a storyline and it was used to make people like him. None of them were there on the days chemo kicked Joe's ass, keeping him down and out for the day, none of them were there when he was sick from the meds and not one of them sat with him after he took a chemo pill to make sure he was okay. Not all chemo medicine makes someone's hair fall out, not everyone with cancer is bed ridden they are allowed to still live a normal life. Granted Joe is officially in remission it doesn't give anyone the right to say anything about his battle with cancer this is the second time I have seen him fight this battle and the second time I have seen him win against it. Some people aren't as lucky as Joe and some people do lose their hair, some people are bed ridden but it all depends on the medicine they are taking and now Joe is required to take medicine the rest of his life to prevent the cancer from coming back and keeping it at bay so that he never has to fight that battle again. I have taken a long break away from social media to avoid the negative people along with the people that have all negative things to say about me. No one knows us just who Joe plays on TV. I was not prepared for this life but I am dealing with it in my own way; privately the best that I can.

I smile when I see Joe walking through the terminal holding a duffle back on his shoulder. He looks so good, freshly tanned, his thinning hair pulled into a bun with his brand new beard wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a grey tank top showing off his muscles and his Samoan tattoo. I nearly want to run to him when I see him but I control myself and speed walk toward him. He greets me with his gorgeous smile before I walk into his arms taking in his scent. "Hello, Beautiful," he says making me smile. "Did you miss me?"

"More than you'll ever know," I say looking up at him with a smile as he smiles down at me before taking my lips in for a soft sweet kiss in the middle of the airport. I groan in protest when he breaks the kiss.

"Don't be like that," he smiles, "we have two weeks to catch up on. Are you good to go if you know what I am saying?"

"Oh yeah, the doctor gave me the okay last week," I say with a smile knowing exactly what he's talking about.

"Good, birth control?" he asks.

"No," I say. "I opted not to use any birth control. I probably should have but with us not knowing if you can create any more kids I didn't want to risk it."

"I see," he says. "I have to go get my luggage, where is Matthew?"

"He is at my parents' house. I didn't want to drag him out it was close to his nap time so I thought it would be better to leave him home with my mom."

"I see."

"So how are you feeling?" We walk to the baggage claim hand in hand. "It wasn't too much was it?"

"I'm feeling pretty good," he says. "I had a couple rough days but I am feeling pretty good right now."

"Good," I say as he wraps his arm around my shoulders holding me close to him. "And how was your flight?"

"It was pretty decent," he says. "Very relaxing but a long trip my body is still on Hawaii time."

"I bet," I smile. "I miss Hawaii. It was such a beautiful place."

"It really is beautiful," he says, "we'll have to go back some time."

"Yeah," I agree with him as we make it to the baggage claim to wait for his luggage which seems to take forever before everything is accounted for and we walk to the car so that we can go pick Matthew up on our way home.

"You said it was close to Matthew's nap time?" asks Joe as I am driving us down the highway from the airport.

"Yeah, it should be," I say, "why?"

"If it is his nap time do we really want to disturb him? We're not going to want to wake him up so we are just going to hang out at your parents' house until he wakes up and I think after a few weeks there is a better way to spend our time," he smiles.

"And how would that be?" I smile.

"Oh you know," he says taking my hand. "A little time in our bed?"

"Sounds like a plan to me, let me call my mom and see if Matthew is sleeping and if he's sleeping we'll head to our house to kill some time because honestly I am ready to sex you up."

"I like the sound of that," he says making me smile before I tell Suri to call my mom. The music playing from my I-Phone stops just as the ringing bursts through the car sound system.

It rings a couple times before my mom's voice comes on the sound system, "hello, Audrey," she says.

"Hey, Mama, so I picked Joe up from the airport and we were wondering if Matthew was already down for his nap?" I ask.

"Yes, I just put him down for a nap," she says.

"Okay, do you mind if Joe and I go to hang out for a little bit while he naps? You can just call me when he wakes up from his nap and I will come pick him up."

"That's fine," she says and I can hear her smile through the phone. It makes me smile. "I would say you probably have a couple hours to hang out." And Joe raises his eyebrows at me.

"Thanks, mom," I say with a smile, "just give me a call when he wakes up and we will be there to pick him up."

"I will," she says. "And you are working tonight right?" she asks.

"Yes," I say. "I am working tonight."

"Okay," she says, "enjoy your time, I'll see you when you get here."

"See you when we get there," I say with a smile.

"Be careful, ti amo."

"I will, ti amo," I say before cutting the call. "So we have about two hours to kill," I say.

"I can work with that," he says as he places his hand on my thigh, softly massaging it as I drive. I smile as I take the exit to get us to our house. I drive as cautiously as I can but still in a hurry to get home and get as much time in with my husband as I possibly can.

I pull into the driveway of our home making the garage door open so I can pull into our garage. I put the car in park as the door closes behind us. I hurry out of the car as Joe does the same leaving his luggage in the trunk of the car. I fumble with the key and the lock to open the door as I feel Joe's arms wrapped around my waist and his soft lips on my neck, kissing it softly as I unlock the door. I push it open and hear the alarm going off as Joe scoops me up and puts me over his shoulder so I can punch in the security code after I push the door shut and lock it. He slides me down his front so we are standing face to face. He captures my lips with his, kissing me deep with urgency and need, I kiss him back with the same urgency. I want him it's been far too long for both of us. Breathlessly we break the kiss, our foreheads touching, "Damn, Audrey, I missed you," he says with a smile before kissing me again, this time taking me by the waist lifting me from the floor. I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist as he carries me up to our bedroom, never breaking the kiss. He kicks the door shut behind him before carrying me to the bed. He gently lays me down on the bed, kissing my neck softly as I take my hands through his hair, combing through it with my fingers as he continues to kiss me across my collarbone, he sits up to take off his shirt exposing his large chest, he may not have a six pack or an 8 pack but I love his body the way it is, his dad bod as many call it, I sit up and take off my own shirt exposing my tan nursing bra. Joe's lips trail kisses across the top of my breasts as he massages them through the fabric of my bra keeping the breast milk from leaking out, his lips on my stomach, kissing around it softly as he reaches the top of my jeans, he unbuttons them and pulls them down as I help him by kicking them off. He takes his shorts off exposing his grey briefs before spreading my legs softly. He places soft kisses on the inside of my thighs, kissing each side until he reaches my sex, he kisses me through the lace of my white underwear. He pulls them to the side and slides his finger inside of me making me moan out in pleasure, he moves his finger soft and slow before pulling it out to slide my panties down my legs and tossing them to the floor. He places my legs over his shoulder as his mouth heats my sex, his tongue gliding over my swollen clit, flicking it softly making me cry out in pleasure, sucking it softly as his fingers slide into me, I arch my back taking more as he flicks my clit with his tongue and his fingers make love to me soft and slow. "Joe," I moan out in pleasure. He sucks my clit harder and moves his fingers faster, I arch my head back, claw into the sheets and cry out in pleasure as I come apart, hitting my climax.

Joe stands up removing his briefs freeing his thick and large erection, he settles himself over me, stroking it softly. "Are you sure you don't want me to use a condom?" he asks. I shake my head no and he takes his erection over my sex, stroking it softly before he eases into me. I wince from the pain at first, he doesn't move allowing me to adjust to his size again, and get used to it after just having a baby. "You good?" he asks looking down at me. I nod and wrap my arms around his neck pulling him down to me. He starts to move slow, taking time making love to me. Filling me with every inch of him, "I have missed you, Audrey, I missed this," he says before taking my lips and kissing me deep as he moves, I move with him making love to him as he makes love to me slow and sweet, taking his time hitting every sensitive part of my sex. "Audrey," he breathes in my ear before nibbling at my neck. "I love you, Baby Girl," he says.

"I love you too," I say as we continue making love. I feel the passion tearing through my body, the ecstasy building deep within my body, I know I am close. He hits one sensitive spot and I come apart, my legs quiver, my toes curl into the mattress and my nails into his back as I fall apart, hit my climax as he takes my lips in a hard but sweet kiss as he comes apart, filling me with his seed.

"You sure you have to work tonight?" he asks me as we are lying in our bed in the afternoon sun as he strokes my arm softly.

"Yeah, I told my mom I would," I say. "She's kind of depending on me being there."

"That sucks, I want more time with you," he says kissing my shoulder.

"When I get home," I smile.

"What time do you work till?" he asks.

"11," I say.

"That's late," he says.

"I know but I need to close tonight."

"All right, so I guess Matthew and I will be hanging out tonight."

"You two could always come visit me at work, you'll get a free meal," I wink.

"Maybe we will stop by," he smiles as my cellphone rings. I get out of bed naked and pull it out of my jeans pocket to see it's my mom. "Hey, Mama," I say.

"Hey, Audrey, I hope I wasn't interrupting anything but Matthew is awake," she says.

"All right, Joe and I will be right over to pick him up," I say.

"See you when you get here," she says.

"Okay, bye," I say before hanging up the phone. I toss my phone onto the bed. "Matthew is awake we need to go get him," I say looking for my underwear. "And he's probably hungry if my breasts are any indication," I say as I grab my panties to put on while Joe gets out of bed to get dressed. "I'm going to need to feed him when we get there."

"Okay," says Joe throwing his shirt on over his head. "I enjoyed our afternoon."

"Me too," I say putting on my shirt. "It's been too long."

"Way too long," he says. "Let's go get the Samoan Bottle Monster," he says.

I laugh and say, "more like the Samoan breast monster. Let's go," I say fixing up my hair on the way out the door. We make our way downstairs and I grab the keys off the counter before walking out the door to the car. I let Joe drive us to my mom's house to pick up the baby while I sit in the passenger's seat holding his hand the entire way there.

 **LATER THAT NIGHT:**

It's been a pretty busy night at work, business has been pretty good. I have been working at my parents' restaurant Romano's for a couple weeks now and I love it. I am glad to be back in the family business in a low key lifestyle where I can bring my son to work with me whenever I wish which has helped a lot with Joe gone filming a movie for two weeks. I'm standing in the back taking a little break getting ready to call Joe to see if he is stopping in tonight. I'm looking at my phone at the picture that Joe sent me of him and Matthew watching TV and a picture of Matthew wrapped up in his dinosaur towel after a bath. He looks adorable. "Audrey," says my brother.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"There is a man out there asking specifically for you. I tried to take his order but he says he wants you."

"A man?" I ask, "That's weird is it Joe and Matthew?"

"No," he says, "It's some man dressed in a suit. He is asking for you. I can tell him to get lost if you want me to."

"No, don't, I'll see what he wants but look at your nephew, how cute is he?" I ask showing him the picture.

"He looks like mini-Joe," he says, "but he's cute."

"I know," I laugh. "Nothing of mine went into that boy."

"Maybe the Romano nose and eyelashes but that's it," he says with a smile.

"True," I say putting my phone back in my pocket. "What table?" I ask.

"Table 25," he says. I nod and make my way out to the dining area.

I make my way to table 25 and stop in my tracks as I see him sitting there looking at the menu, dressed in one of his expensive business suits. I hold my breath for a couple seconds before I make my way to the table. "Scott," I say as he looks up at me with his deep blue eyes and a smile on his face.

"Audrey," he says.

 ***A/N: So what did you think? Why is Scott there? What could he possibly want? What about how Audrey feels toward social media and the opinions of the critics? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	30. Chapter 30

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

"Scott," I say as I am frozen before his table, "what are you doing here?" I ask.

"Audrey," he says standing up, he embraces me in a hug before I can even stop him. I stand frozen not able to hug him back as I process how he's in Florida but more importantly how he found me. I left New York to start a new life down in Florida to get away from all the craziness that happened during that day in the courtroom. He lets go of me and looks me over and says, "You're looking great Audrey, this is where you've been?"

"Yes for a couple months now," I say, "the question is what are you doing here?"

"Well, I got special permission from my parole officer to come down here to see you. I just got out of prison a month ago. I heard about what happened to you during the Ramirez case. I am so sorry I never thought that it would get out of hand like that," he says, "I couldn't believe it when I heard about it. How are you doing? How's your arm?"

"I'm okay," I say, "I lost my son in the shooting at least one of them and we have been dealing with that loss and my arm is getting better. I'm getting stronger I might be able to use it again some day," I say.

"I'm sorry, Audrey. It should have never happened."

"Damn right it shouldn't have happened," I say, "but it did and it's life. We are doing okay."

"I'm glad to hear it, sit down, let's talk, Audrey," he says.

"Scott, I don't think that's a good idea. You shouldn't even be here," I say.

"Audrey, sit down please just listen to me," he says. I let out a sigh and take a seat at the table with him going against my better judgment. "Thank-you."

"What do you want, Scott?" I ask.

"I just wanted to talk to you. I miss you, Audrey," he says with a soft smile. "I spent 9 months in jail and in those 9 months I had a lot of time to think. Would you like something to eat?"

"No, I don't," I say, "can you please just get to the point?"

"I had a lot of time to think, I spent a long time thinking about you and thinking about us. I know I told you to be happy and that I wanted you to be happy but I want you to be happy with me," he says. "I love you, Audrey. I have always loved you since the day we started our time in my bed. I always wanted more with you. I wanted everything with you. I wanted more than just sex," he says. "I just wanted you. I still want you. I know I fucked up with my drinking and fucked up with my accident on Christmas Eve. I was in a terrible mindset and I have been going to counseling to get the help that I need and I have been sober for 9 months now and I want to stay sober. I went looking for you at the law firm and then Richardson told me you took a leave of absence and then handed in your resignation to the law firm. I went to your old apartment and saw that you didn't live there anymore. I tried to find your facebook page and saw that you deactivated it so I searched for your mom's and found hers. I saw that you moved down here to Florida," he says. "And I tried to access your Instagram page but saw you have it set to private. I wanted to contact you somehow and I saw you changed your cellphone number and I had no way so I made the decision to come here to see you and talk to you."

"Yeah, I am on a social media break," I say. "I'm just not into it right now."

"I figured," he smiles, "so I want to give us another chance, I want to be with you, I want more than just sex. I want a relationship with you. You should come back to New York and live with me."

"As flattered and creeped out as I may be that you went through all this trouble to find me so you could ask me that I have to say no," I say.

"Come on, Audrey," he begs. "We would be good together and before you came down here for Christmas I think we were in a good place. I want to be a father to your baby," he says.

"My baby has a father," I say.

"Biologically," he says, "but not in a relationship."

"Actually, Joe is very involved with his son and he is very involved in his son's life. He doesn't need a father."

"Come on, Audrey," he says, "Give me a chance to prove to you that I can be the man you always wanted me to be."

"Scott, if you know I have a son you know I have a husband," I say. "And I don't think Joe would really appreciate you and me trying it out."

"You're married?" he asks. "I'm shocked, you were so against marriage what made you change your mind?" he asks.

"Getting shot," I say, "and I wanted my son to see a family not some screwed up crazy arrangement we had."

"Audrey," he says, "are you kidding me?"

"No, I am married we have been married since May," I say. "And we have a beautiful son together."

"Are you sure it is his baby?" he asks me. "I mean we were pretty intimate."

"I am pretty sure he is Joe's son. I was on birth control with you and besides other than my nose he is Joe's mini. He looks just like him so yes Matthew is his son."

"I don't believe that," he says, "and what did you say his name was?"

"Matthew," I say, "and I don't care if you believe me or not. Matthew is Joe's son. I have no reason to lie about it."

"Because he's rich," he says.

"Fuck you," I say pulling out my cellphone. "Here is proof that my son belongs to my husband," I show him a picture of Joe and Matthew together. "See?"

"Fair enough," he says, "but why did you get married? I thought you were against all that?"

"I used to be against marriage or maybe I was never against the thought of marriage or being in love. Maybe I was against the idea of marrying someone I didn't love. I don't know, Scott. What we had we were just friends with benefits pretty much. I was attracted to you yes but in a sexual non-commitment type of way. If that makes any sense," I say.

"So it was only sex with me that you wanted?" he asks.

"Scott, I really don't know how many times I need to say it. I only wanted sex from you. What we had was just fun it was nothing compared to what I have with Joe," I say. "I'm sorry if I am being blunt but I love Joe. I think I have loved Joe all my life. It's just things got in the way of us actually being together, then he donated his sperm to me so we could have a baby and I got my feelings back for him," I explain. "I'm sorry, Scott. I'm happy that you're fixing yourself and getting your life together. I'm happy about that and I will be happy when you can give that side of you to your children. They deserve that side of you. I don't. There is a woman out there that deserves the new Scott and that woman isn't me. I'm sorry, Scott," I say.

"Audrey, I'm never going to stop loving you," he says.

"Scott, you don't love me. You love the idea of me," I say. "We were never meant to be a thing. I don't love you the way I love Joe. What I have with Joe doesn't compare to anything else. He is my everything, my best friend and the man I am going to spend the rest of my life with. We went through a lot to get here and we are finally here," I say. "I can't just walk away from that because you decided to sober up. I'm happy. You told me you wanted me to be happy and I have never been happier," I say. "I want you to be happy and I know you're going to find the same happiness that I found."

"Audrey," he says with a plea in his voice. "I can't let you go."

I stand up and say, "you're going to need to."

"Wait," he says before I walk away, "can you at least help me get custody of my kids?" he asks.

"Scott, I don't work at a law firm anymore and I left that life behind me. I have other plans for my life."

"Please, Audrey, I wouldn't want anyone else to help me but you. Please."

"I will think about it," I say. "I need to get back to work."

"Thank-you," he says, "so how can I get in touch with you?"

"You don't," I say. "I have your number when I make my decision I will give you a call. Have a good night, Scott," I say walking away to get back to work. The chances of me helping him are pretty slim. I don't want to get involved in that life again. I have been doing great without all the legal stuff in my life, being with my husband and son whenever I want to be. I don't want to get back into a courtroom. I can't get back into a courtroom.

After my shift I make my way home to spend some time with Joe and for us to share a late night dinner together of margherita pizza since I didn't want to go into a carb overload. After seeing Scott it really threw me off for the night, I wasn't expecting to see him or even talk to him again but there he was in my parents' restaurant confessing his love to me and asking me to help him get custody of his kids again. I'm not sure how I feel about helping him it's going to take a lot of thinking about. I pull into the driveway of our home and I pull out the food before making my way to the front door. "Honey, I'm home," I call out in the foyer.

Joe greets me in the foyer with a bottle of wine dressed in a pair of black Jordan shorts and a bright green tank with his hair pulled up into a messy bun. He greets me with a kiss, "welcome home, Beautiful. How was work?"

"Interesting," I say.

"Tell me all about it," he says.

"I will over dinner," I say as we make our way to the living room to eat dinner. "Is Matthew asleep?"

"Yes, I got him to sleep a couple hours ago," he says.

"Nice, that means we only have a little bit of time before he wakes up again," I say opening the pizza box exposing the fresh margherita pizza with mozzarella, basil and spinach.

"This looks amazing," he smiles, "did you make this?"

"I did," I smile.

"You've got skills," he says as we sit down. "Why did you go into law and not into the family business?" he asks pouring us each a glass of wine. "I am sure your parents could have used you."

"I may have leaned a thing or two from my papa and mom," I smile, "and I went into law because I have always been interested in law. I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted something different in my life and I wanted to be in New York."

"And then everything changed for you, do you miss New York and being a lawyer?"

"I miss New York occasionally," I say, "there are things in New York that Pensacola doesn't have but I love being home with my family and it is calm compared to the city. I don't really miss being a lawyer. I enjoy the hours I work now and being able to take Matthew to work with me because it is a family business. I can't wait to open my own restaurant. I just need to get some tips from my dad."

"And a business license," he says.

"I know," I say, "I will get there so guess who showed up at the restaurant tonight," I say before giving him a piece of pizza.

"Who?"he asks.

"Scott," I say. "He just showed up out of nowhere and wanted to talk to me. He confessed his love for me and wanted to give it another shot. I told him I was married and I had no plans of leaving you. He couldn't believe that we got married. Then he asked me to help him get custody of his kids."

"That guy is like a cock roach," he says. "I thought he was in jail?"

"He must have gotten out. Those 9 months went pretty fast."

"You're telling me, so are you helping him or what?"

"No," I say. "I told him I would think about it and get back to him. I hope that when I don't get back to him that he leaves me alone. I just don't want to get involved with him again and I don't want to live that life again. I made the decision to quit law and I don't plan to go back. I can't even think about stepping into another courtroom again especially after what happened the last time I was in a courtroom. I lost one of our sons and I nearly died. I also watched innocent people die as a result of gang tensions. I don't want to go back," I say. He nods, "What?"

"Nothing, I am just agreeing with you. I know you made your choice to quit law and to move back home but I can't help but to think that you made the decision out of fear."

"I made the decision because I don't want to miss anything of my son's life. The hours I put into the office would be ridiculous and we would need a nanny. I didn't spend thousands of dollars to hire a nanny to raise our child. I'm not scared to get back into a courtroom."

"Okay," he says, "but I don't think it would be a bad idea to talk to someone about it. I mean that is a traumatic event that you went through and losing a child in the middle of it is hard. It wouldn't hurt for you to talk to someone."

"Joe, I don't need to talk to anyone. I am fine, I've been fine. I'm happy and I moved on with my life. I am fine."

"Okay," he says. "You're fine."

"I am," I say, "look you just got back and I don't want to spend tonight fighting. I had other things in mind for us to do," I smile.

"Hmm," he says, "I like the sound of that." He winks at me making me blush. "It's great to be healthy again."

"It is great for you to be healthy again how much longer do you think you can hide this from WWE before they find out you're cancer free?"

"I don't know but I am going to enjoy my time with my wife and son before they find out."

"They can't force you to go back to work. I mean you told them at least a year or so," I say.

"Yeah but the ratings haven't been that great since I left especially RAW. I am sure they are going to want me back sooner than later."

"Maybe," I say, "but you're mine until they find out."

"I'm always yours, Baby," he says with a smile as we finish eating our late night dinner together.

 **A/N: So what did you think? What did you think of Scott confessing his love for Audrey? What about him asking her for help to get custody of his kids back? Do you think Audrey made her decision to quit law out of fear or because she wanted a new start? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	31. Chapter 31

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. It took me a while to come up with this chapter. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go. I was going to do a chapter in Scott's point of view but I chose to wait to do that at a later time. I wanted something happy for Joe and Audrey after Joe dealing with his leukemia. So I hope you enjoy.**

I hear Matthew crying as I stand in the bathroom looking down at the pregnancy test in my hand. I shouldn't be as shocked as I am to see the two lines clear as day on the test considering Joe and I weren't really preventing a pregnancy so we knew it was possible but with his chemo medicine and radiation we weren't sure he could conceive another child. We took our chances and here we are pregnant already. Matthew is only 4 months old which means our kids will be at least 12 months or 11 months apart depending how far along I am maybe even 10 months apart if we conceived when Joe came back from Hawaii. It's definitely a surprise. "Are you okay in there, Audrey?" Joe asks me from outside the door. I put the test in the pocket of my jeans and wash my hands. "You've been in there for a long time."

"I'm okay, I'll be out in a second," I say drying my hands and looking at myself in the mirror. I guess I would like to have my second child before I am 40 years old so this isn't so bad and we were supposed to have twins but Jordan passed away when I was shot. I walk out of the bathroom to see Joe standing there holding Matthew in his arms. "Hey there handsome," I say with a smile as Matthew gives me a big toothless smile. He is Joe 100% he looks just like him and it just melts my heart. He has little curls sitting on top of his head. He is just beautiful like his daddy. "Good morning," I say to Joe with a smile as he greets me with a kiss before I take Matthew from him.

"I think he's hungry," says Joe as we walk through our bedroom. I changed his diaper so he's good to go.

"Then he probably is ready to eat," I say with a smile. I know Joe's time with us at home is limited because he's gone back to training at the gym so it won't be long before he is back in the ring. I wish we could extend it a while longer but I know he is ready to get back in the ring because he's getting restless at home. In the last month and a half we have agreed to open our own restaurant here in Pensacola. I wanted to go with an Italian cuisine but we decided to make it an Italian and Island cuisine menu we plan to call it the Italian Island Grille because honestly I can't run a business without my husband and his business degree. He knows the ins and outs of owning a business. We are just trying to find a place for our restaurant.

We get to the kitchen and I hand Matthew to Joe and have him put him in the high chair while I make Matthew's cereal. I pull out a bottle of breast milk and pour it onto the oatmeal and mix it together. I hand the bowl to Joe so that he can feed him while I make Joe some coffee and start making us some breakfast. "What are your plans today?" asks Joe as he spoons food into Matthew's mouth. "You're off today right?"

"I am off today," I say, "what would you like for breakfast this morning?"

"Waffles sound great," he says, "so what are you doing today?"

"I thought about going to visit my mom today and then take Matthew out shopping," I say. "I want to cook you a special dinner tonight."

"That sounds nice," he says with a smile. "He likes this stuff."

"I know you should see him eat some squash he really loves that and peaches those are his favorite foods," I smile as I am getting breakfast ready. Matthew is 4 months old and weighs 15 pounds already, he's an eater and a chunky monkey. The breast milk was not enough for him so the doctor encouraged us to start him on solid foods of course other than the cereal I make all of his baby food but he loves to eat. "You going to train today?"

"Yeah, I need to start getting myself back in shape especially if I am returning at the Royal Rumble," he says.

"You're going back for the Rumble?" I ask with a bit of disappointment in my voice. "That's so soon," I say.

"We still have three months," he says, "and I am returning the last RAW before the Rumble to insert myself in the Rumble. Vince thought about making it a surprise but we figured the fans probably wouldn't like that so I am going to go back the Monday before, thank the fans, tell them I am in remission, let them know I am back and entering the Rumble of course I am working a very low part time schedule before I throw myself into the game again."

"At least you're working a part time schedule," I say, "that's good you don't want to rush back."

"I know," he says. "I'm going to take it easy, they are talking about a Shield Reunion."

"That would be great," I say with a smile. "I know how much you love working with your best friends. I think that's great."

"And there's talk of moving me to Smackdown after Wrestlemania this year to hype up Smackdown for the switch to Fox Sports in the fall."

"So your entire schedule would be different?" I ask.

"No actually it would be a lot more," he says, "I would work Friday-Tuesday and be home Wednesday and Thursday."

"I don't like that," I say honestly.

"We'll figure it out we aren't talking about that until April," he says. "By that time Matthew will be nearly a year old and not so much of a handful."

"That's what you think," I say mentally calculating when my due date would be most likely late May early June. It definitely throws a wrench into the plans of our lives but what else is new for us.

Later that morning after I give Matthew a bath from getting messy from eating his breakfast I get him dressed in a baby blue polo, pair of khaki shorts and a pair of Jordan sneakers for babies before I put his hair up in a little man bun on the top of his head. He looks adorable almost like a baby Maui as he sits in his walker playing with the toys while I make sure I have everything in the diaper bag for him while Joe has already left to go to the gym to do some training this morning. I make sure I have everything together before I take him out of the walker. I head out of the house into the garage and put him into his carseat making sure the straps are correct before kissing his chubby cheek and putting the diaper bag in the car. I shut the door and climb into the front seat starting the car. I make my way to my mom's house so that I can talk to her about being pregnant surprisingly I am not as sick as I was with Matthew and Jordan. I feel pretty good just exhausted which I chalked down to having a 4 month old.

I arrive at my parents' house and park out front of their house. I get Matthew and his diaper bag out before I make my way up to the porch. My mom meets me outside on the porch with a smile on her face. I know my Papa is working at their restaurant today so I know he's not home which gives me some time with my mom. "There's my favorite boy," she says with a smile looking at Matthew on my hip. "Come to Nonni!" she says with a smile as I hand him to her and Matthew gets a big smile on his face. "He's getting so big!" she says as we walk into the house. "It's hard to believe he used to be so little."

"He is 15 lbs," I say. "He's an eater and he's in 9 month clothes already. He got some shots the other day and you wouldn't even know with how happy he is. He's such a happy baby."

"He seems like it," she says as we make our way into the living room. She holds him while I put a blanket out on the floor and get some of his toys out. We take a seat on the blanket and she holds Matthew as he chews on one of his toys. "Is he teething already?"

"His doctor said he's pretty close that's why he's been drooling more often and chewing on things. I'm not looking forward to breastfeeding him when he has teeth."

"It won't be so bad," she says, "I did it with all of you and I never got bit."

"I can see myself getting bit by him," I smile.

"I love his little man bun," she says with a smile. "He has beautiful hair."

"He has Joe's hair for sure. He is completely Joe," I say. "It's like I had no part in making him."

"That's kind of true," she smiles, "but you both did a great job with him."

"Thanks," I say.

"And maybe when you get pregnant again that baby will look just like you."

"Funny you should mention that, Mom," I begin.

"Mention you getting pregnant again?"

"Yes, because I took a test this morning and it was positive. Joe and I are pregnant again."

"That was quick work," she says as Matthew lets out a scream. "Were you two expecting to get pregnant so soon?"

"We weren't really preventing a pregnancy it was pretty much whatever happens happens, with Joe getting radiation and his chemo medicine we weren't sure we would be able to conceive again but I guess we were able to," I say. "I want to say that I am shocked but I am not shocked more scared on what we are supposed to do with another baby. We definitely didn't plan this out well. If I got pregnant when I think I did then I'm probably due late May or early June which means Matthew will only be 10 or 11 months old when his sister or brother is born. I don't know if I can handle that."

"Look at it this way you were supposed to have twins to start with so you would have had Jordan and Matthew the same age so I think 10 months of a difference is not so bad."

"It is when your husband is going back to work in January and getting a bigger schedule in April just a month before you have your second child."

"So you haven't told Joe?" she asks as she lets Matthew lay on his stomach.

"Not yet. I thought I would make it special for him. I don't think last year was a very special moment. I just called him into the bathroom to see the pregnancy test and it was a different scenario this time I want it to be really special for him."

"I see, do you have anything planned?" she asks.

"Not really, I was thinking of getting Matthew a Big brother shirt to wear tonight, make Joe dinner and then have Matthew give him the pregnancy test. That seems so cliché though so I don't know."

"I think it would be cute," she says. "Do you think Joe is going to be excited?"

"I think he will be," I say. "He does want more kids so I am sure he's going to be extremely happy. I know I am happy just a little scared to have kids so close together in age. I didn't think it would happen this fast."

"That's the thing you're the most fertile right after you have a baby and with you breastfeeding you have no idea when you're really ovulating and your cycle is messed up so you don't really know when you're fertile. It happens sometimes and I think you're going to be okay. You're amazing with Matthew so I think you'll be just as amazing with another baby."

"Thanks for the confidence, Mom," I say letting out a breath. "Matthew are you ready to be a big brother?" I ask him as he looks at me with his big dark brown eyes through his thick eyelashes. He smiles at me. "I think you're going to be a great big brother," I smile as I pick him up. He gives me another toothless grin as I kiss his cheek. "You're always going to be Mommy's number 1 man!" I say with a smile.

"You're welcome, so what's going on with your restaurant?"

"Joe and I need to find a place for it but once we do that we will come up with a menu, order the things we need and go from there. I am pretty excited about that. I don't want to be a lawyer anymore being able to take Matthew to work with me some days and not having a heavy work schedule has been great. He needs me to be around for him."

"I think you seem happier," she says with a smile.

"I am happier," I say, "I am in Florida with my family, I have a beautiful son, a great husband and another baby on the way. I couldn't be happier and Scott is gone from my life. I don't intend on calling him back or helping him."

"I'm sorry that I told him where you work and stuff like that. I didn't know the history."

"It's okay," I say. "Hopefully he just stays gone."

"I hope so," she says with a smile.

After I give Matthew lunch and he takes a nap we go shopping for a Big Brother shirt for him to wear before we go grocery shopping to get something special for dinner. When I get home Joe is already home relaxing in the living room watching TV I give him Matthew to tend to while I make dinner for us. I chose to make him one of his favorite meals my lasagna my family's special recipe with ciabatta bread on the side. I get a bottle of wine out for him and fill my glass up with water before I go upstairs to change into a black off the shoulder dress and strappy heeled sandals before I change Matthew into his big brother shirt. I just hope Joe is happy with the news I am about to share with him. I put the pregnancy test in a box and take it downstairs with Matthew and me. I place Matthew in his highchair and give him some toys to play with to keep him busy while we enjoy our dinner.

"This is a special meal," says Joe, "what's the occasion?"

"Just a celebration," I say with a smile. "Would you like some wine?"

"Please," he says. I pour some wine in a cup for him. "You're not drinking wine tonight?"

"No, I need to pump later for Matthew so I am skipping the wine tonight."

"Okay," he shrugs before taking a swig of his wine. "How was your day?"

"It was pretty good. I enjoyed spending the day with my mom. We actually went shopping."

"That sounds like fun. I know how much you love to go shopping, what did you buy?"

"I bought Matthew some new clothes," which isn't a lie because the child's clothing store was running a good deal and they had a lot of super cute clothes I couldn't pass up. "And I got myself some new shoes and a couple new outfits."

"Nice," he says. "This is really good. I love your lasagna."

"Thank-you," I say. "I got you something too," I say with a smile.

"You did?" he asks.

"Yes, hold on," I say standing up from the table. I walk over to the drawer where I put the box with the pregnancy test and bring it back to the table with me. I pick Matthew up out of the highchair and put the box in his hand. "Give that to Daddy," I say with a smile.

"Can I have that?" Joe asks with a smile as he takes the box from Matthew's hand. "Thank-you, Buddy," he says as I make Matthew's shirt readable to Joe. He glances at it. "Best Big Brother," he reads. "Big Brother?" he asks looking up at me.

"Open your gift," I say with a smile and a bit of impatience. He opens the box and looks at the positive pregnancy test inside the box. "I know it wasn't planned and I didn't expect it to happen so soon but congratulations you're going to be a daddy again and Matthew is going to be a big brother."

"You're pregnant," he says standing up. "We're having a baby?" he asks.

"We're having a baby!" I say with a smile. He wraps Matthew and me up in his arms, he kisses my lips softly and takes Matthew from me. "So I take it you're happy?"

"Extremely!" he says before kissing my lips again. "Matthew, you're going to have a baby sister or a baby brother," he says making Matthew smile. "This is exciting."

"I know," I say with a smile. "Apparently you're my favorite person to make a person with. Congratulations, Daddy."

"Thanks, Mommy," he says with a smile before he hugs me again. To see the joy on his face after going through a tough few months, fighting leukemia has been tough for him and being on chemo pills the rest of his life is even harder for him but to see the joy on his face because we created a life with each other wipes out all the apprehension and nervousness I felt. We'll make it, we'll figure it out that's what we always do.

 ***A/N: What did you think? Were you surprised that Audrey got pregnant this soon? What do you think about Joe going back to work so soon? What about them opening up their own restaurant? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	32. Chapter 32

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much***

"Say good morning, Mama!" I say as Audrey walks into the kitchen dressed for our OB/GYN appointment this morning. Matthew smiles at Audrey as I feed him some cereal. "You look nice today." She greets Matthew with a kiss on the cheek making him squeal before kissing my lips softly.

"Thanks," she smiles as she walks over to the cabinet to get a bowl out to get some cereal. "I have to work later tonight," she says.

"That's right," I say, "so after our appointment I thought we could go check out some property for our restaurant. There's a building up for lease. It's going to take some work but I think we can turn it into a successful restaurant."

"Yeah that sounds good," she says pouring cereal into the bowl.

"How are you feeling today?" I ask.

"Pretty good actually nothing like when I was pregnant with Jordan and Matthew," she says. "In fact if it wasn't for my period being late I probably wouldn't have taken a pregnancy test."

"What made you take the test anyway? The doctor told you that it would be a while to regulate your cycle especially with you breastfeeding," I say.

"Intuition, I guess," she smiles. "So are we dropping Matthew off with your mom or is she coming here to babysit?"

"She's coming here, it's easier for her to just come here to babysit than for us to drop him off there and pick him up."

"Sounds good to me," she smiles as she takes a seat next to me at the table to eat her breakfast. "He is getting better at sleeping through the night. I think he only woke up once last night for a feeding but that was it."

"Thank God," I say with a smile. "I hope the next baby sleeps better at night than Matthew did."

"Wishful thinking," she smiles at me. "I can't believe it happened so fast. I didn't think it would happen like this."

"I'm just thankful that we were able to conceive a child," I say, "but if this baby is a girl do you want to be done having kids or do you want more?"

"If it is a girl I think we are good," she says.

"Then I will get myself fixed after we know the sex that way we won't worry about getting pregnant again," I suggest.

"I can just get my tubes tied," she says, "you don't have to do that."

"We'll discuss it."

"Yeah," she says.

After I feed Matthew breakfast I change his diaper and get him dressed for the day before I get myself dressed. Audrey feeds him before we leave and he ends up falling asleep for his morning nap just as my mom arrives. "Hey, Mom," I say greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning, Joe," she smiles, "where is the little cutie?"

"He just went down for his morning nap," answers Audrey, "morning, Mom," she says with a smile giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Morning," she says. "So he just went down?"

"Yes," I say.

"He should sleep for a good 2 hours," says Audrey, "he'll need a diaper change and there is a bottle of breast milk in the fridge for him and there is a jar of green beans and a jar of applesauce for him to eat for lunch. He usually eats the entire container of both. He likes to eat but we should hopefully be back by then we're just going to a doctor appointment and then we are going to look at a property for our restaurant. If you need anything just call Joe or me on our cellphones."

"I think I'll be all right," she says, "I raised quite a few kids in my time," she smiles.

"I know," Audrey smiles. "I know we are leaving him in good hands. He is a bit fussy because he is teething but he isn't too bad."

"Okay," she says, "so what's this doctor's appointment for?" she asks.

Audrey and I look at each other, Audrey nods giving me the okay to tell my mom the news. "Well, it seems that Audrey is pregnant and we are going to go have it confirmed by the doctor," I say.

"Audrey's pregnant? So soon?" she asks.

"Believe me it was a shock for us too," I say, "but we weren't really trying to prevent a pregnancy. Audrey could have taken birth control but we chose to let fate happen. I guess this is meant to be."

"Congratulations," she says with a smile before she hugs each of us. "I hope that it's a girl, I'm lacking in granddaughters," she smiles.

"I just want a healthy baby and a healthy pregnancy," says Audrey, "but I would love a little girl to complete our family."

"Crossing my fingers!" my mom says with a smile.

We leave my mom with Matthew and head to the OB to get our pregnancy confirmed to hopefully find out how far along Audrey is. There is no telling with her irregular cycle. We arrive at the doctor's office and I park the car. We walk to the door and I hold it open for her and follow in behind her. She walks up to the reception desk and signs in. She doesn't have to fill out any paperwork considering our son is just 4 months old and they already have her information from that pregnancy. We take a seat in the waiting room. I take her hand in mine as we wait. "Are you excited?" she asks with a smile.

"I'm shocked and excited. How do you think Matthew is going to handle having a baby brother or sister in the house? He will only be about a year old or a little over a year depending on when you're due."

"I don't know that's what I am worried about. It's always just Matthew," she says. "I don't want to make him feel abandoned when the baby gets here. He's going to be a year old which means he's going to be just as needy as the newborn and he's not going to understand this baby in our house. I'm happy to be pregnant BUT I don't want Matthew to feel abandoned."

"Well," I say squeezing her hand for comfort, "we'll make sure he doesn't feel abandoned. We'll get him a baby doll to practice with so that he sort of understands. It's going to be tough juggling between a toddler and a newborn but we're a team we can do it."

"Yeah but you'll be gone a lot more come April with you being moved to Smackdown so I will have both kids by myself so it's going to be crazy."

"I will take some time off when the baby is born," I promise her. "I will take it easy on the working so that I can be home more often with you."

"You're coming back in January, then you're going to ask for some time off I don't think Vince is going to be down for that."

"We'll have to try," I say before we are called to the back.

Audrey is weighed on the scale before the nurse gives her a cup to pee in. She directs her to the bathroom before guiding me to the examination room. I take a seat on the chair in the room and wait for Audrey to return with the cup. I look around the room at pictures of babies and pictures of babies inside the womb. My biggest fear is that they will discover she's pregnant with twins on an ultrasound today. I try not to think about it but knowing the possibility is there I don't rule it out. It's happened before and with twins running in both families it is very likely for her to be pregnant with twins. "You seem nervous," says the nurse.

"This is our second pregnancy in under a year," I say, "our son is 4 months old and twins run in both families not to mention that our last pregnancy was twins but we lost one due to my wife being shot so I am a little nervous."

"Wow," she says, "I think you will be okay. You have nothing to be nervous about," she says as Audrey walks into the room.

"What are you nervous about, Joe?" she asks.

"Just nervous at the possibility of having twins," I say. "We both know that it's a possibility. It just makes me nervous that's all."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that too," she says, "so you're not alone there."

I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that we are both nervous about the possibility of having twins. The nurse asks Audrey some questions like how late is her period, when was her last period and Audrey explains that she's breastfeeding so it's been kind of erratic. The nurse then asks her about symptoms she's having and Audrey tells her for the most part that she's not really feeling any symptoms just being tired which is natural for a woman that just had a baby 4 months ago. The nurse jots everything down and then tells Audrey that the doctor will be in shortly to do an ultrasound to get a reading of the baby and determine how far along she is.

The doctor walks into the room and congratulates Audrey telling her that the pregnancy test was positive and she is indeed pregnant. He asks her a few questions before preparing her for an ultrasound. Audrey strips from the waist down as he prepares the machine. Audrey puts her legs up and the doctor prepares the wand to insert into her vagina. I take her hand as he inserts it she squeezes my hands slightly because of the discomfort. "All right," he says as he looks at the screen moving the wand around slightly. "Let's find this baby," he says. "And there it is," he says with a smile. "It looks a nice healthy baby," he says.

"There is only one baby right?" I ask.

He chuckles, "there's only one baby."

"That's good to know," I say with a smile. I lean down and kiss Audrey's lips softly. "We created another life."

"We did," she smiles, "do you know how far along I am?" she asks.

"Judging by this ultrasound, the baby is measuring 6 weeks so you are just newly pregnant. It looks like you are possibly due May 20th," he announces.

"5 days before your birthday," she smiles up at me.

"It's unlikely you'll have the baby on my birthday," I say, "it would be nice but I doubt it would happen."

"You never know," says the doctor. "All babies and pregnancies are different. Your first born could have been early but your second one could be late you just never know."

"It's so tiny," I say with tears in my eyes. I don't care how many babies we create every time I see the life I created on a screen I am going to cry. There's something special in creating a life.

"Joe, don't cry," she says reaching up to stroke my cheek with a smile.

"It's just so beautiful," I say trying to hold myself together. "After everything, the cancer, the shooting after everything this is a blessing. I wasn't sure I would ever be able to create a life with you again, I am so glad God blessed us with this baby." I say.

"Oh, Baby," she says with tears in her eyes. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," I say as I lean down and cry on her shoulder as she wraps her arm around my neck to comfort me, she kisses my temple softly.

The doctor prints some pictures off for us and then we schedule our next appointment before we drive into town to see some property. We get out of the car and walk in the door meeting the realtor. It's an old bar that closed down a couple months ago but with a little bit of work it could be turned into a restaurant. "What do you think?" I ask as we walk around.

"It's nice we can definitely do some renovations to make it more like a restaurant. We can put in some booths and I want to keep the bar," she says, "we can have a bar, sell alcoholic beverages." We walk to the back and we look around, "and we can always upgrade the kitchen get some grills in here, add some ovens and stoves. We can definitely do this."

"Yeah, it's going to take some renovating but when it's all done it will be worth it," I say wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "And the stage we could keep."

"Why would we keep the stage?" she asks.

"We could actually have live music playing some from Italian roots and some from the Island and some nights we could offer karaoke too," I say.

"See this is why I need you, you have amazing ideas on what to do. I never would have thought about that."

"It would be hard to demolish the stage," I say, "so we should get some use out of it besides the patrons would enjoy that."

"I think you're right," she smiles. "I want it," she says.

"You do?" I ask.

"I do," she says. "It just feels right you know?"

"Yes it does," I say as I kiss her temple. "I think my wife and I are going to take it," I say to the realtor.

"That's wonderful news!" he says with a smile. "Now you would be leasing this building not owning it. You would have a monthly payment to use this space and if you're using it for business you will need your business license, there will be multiple inspections and renovations are going to cost a lot of money."

"What is the monthly payment?" asks Audrey.

"You're looking at about $1500 a month to lease this building, including a security deposit of $1,000 and the first month's fee." He explains. "You'll be under contract for 3 years and that at that time it will be up to you if you want to continue the lease or not. The owner could sell the property at any time in the next 3 years and new owner could close down your building."

"Okay," I say. "We're not worried about money we have plenty."

"I didn't think you were," he says. "I have the contract if you're ready to sign," he says.

"I think we are ready to sign," I say looking at Audrey.

"I think we should have our lawyer look it over," she says, "but since I still have my law degree I just want to take a look at it." The realtor hands it to her and she looks over it. She reads it carefully. She nods at it, "it's good," she says.

"All right," I say as I hand it back to the realtor.

"I just need your signatures here, here and here," he points out. Audrey and I both sign the lease and contract and slide it back to him. He signs his name and dates it. I write a check for the first month's rent payment and the security deposit. I hand it to him. "Thank-you, Mr. and Mrs. Anoa'i," he says.

"Thank-you," I say, "when can we begin renovations?"

"As soon as you would like," he says. "It's your building now."

"Okay," I say knowing we have to clean it up first and come up with some ideas before we start renovations. I know they are going to inspect it before we can open it and before we complete renovations to make sure we aren't violating any fire codes or safety codes. Owning a business is a lot of work but it can pay off in the end and if I choose not to return back to work after our baby is born I have something to fall back on. I went to school for this might as well use my degree.

Later that night while Audrey is working I am at home taking care of Matthew. It's been a long evening this is the unhappiest I have seen him in 4 months but with his tooth ready to cut through the gum he is irritable. I do everything I can I give him something to chew on, rub baby Orajel on his gums and give him some children's Tylenol. We're sitting on the couch, "it's okay, Buddy, Mama will be home soon. It's okay," I say rocking him. I give him his pacifier but he spits it out. I replace it with my finger. He sucks on my finger for a minute than chews on it. "Aw, there you go, Buddy, does that help," I ask looking down at him as he looks at me with his dark brown eyes. "Yeah, you're okay," I say with a smile. I watch as his little eyes close and him drift off to sleep. I let out a sigh of relief. I stand up to put him in his bassinet just as the doorbell rings. Matthew's shrieks fill the air. "Damn it!" I say, "who is at my house this late at night?" I look at the clock and see it's after 10:30 and think maybe Audrey forgot her key but I know she would never ring the doorbell knowing Matthew is asleep and she would call or text me to unlock the door for her. "Shhhh," I calm him and walk to the front door. I open it and to my surprise I see Scott standing there, "Scott, what are you doing at MY house?" I ask.

 ***A/N: What do you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	33. Chapter 33

***Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much***

"Baby, I'm home," I say as I walk into the front door of our home with a late night dinner for Joe and me to eat. "I tried to text you," I say turning on the light in the foyer it's weird because it is always usually on for me when I get home from work. Everything is dark in the house and it's eerily quiet which is also unusual, Joe usually stays up for me and waits until I get home but from the earlier text messages and phone calls he sent me I know he was having a rough time with Matthew because of his teething, "I brought us home some lasagna," I say. "Joe," I call out as I walk to the kitchen to put the food down on the counter. "I guess you're already asleep. I'm sorry, I just thought we could have a late night dinner. I'll save you some lasagna," I say as I get some out for myself and put the rest in the refrigerator for Joe tomorrow. I walk into the living room that's dark and turn on the light, startled by the man sitting on my couch. "Scott, what are you doing here?"

"Audrey," he says looking at me as he holds Matthew in his arms. "I have been waiting for you."

"What are you doing here and where's Joe?" I ask as I put my lasagna down on the coffee table.

"Don't worry about that now," he says. "You know Audrey, we could have had it all together, we could have had it all. We could have had our own baby," he says looking down at Matthew, "we could have gotten married," he says. "But you didn't want that, you couldn't want that with me. I would have given you the world," he says looking at me.

"Scott, I told you that what we had was nothing it was just sex," I say, "now give me my son and tell me where my husband is."

"Audrey," he says standing up, "I want more than just sex, you owe me more than that," he says, "you were with me before you slept with Joe."

"Scott, have you been drinking again?" I ask.

"I have to drink to get rid of memories of you," he says.

"Just give me my son," I say as Matthew starts crying. "He's getting scared please give me my son."

"We could have had beautiful children together, Audrey, we could have had a nice family," he says.

"Scott, give me my son," I say again as Matthew cries. "We will talk but please just give me my son first," I beg. Scott hands Matthew to me and I comfort him by rocking him in my arms. "Scott, where is Joe?"

"Don't worry about it," he says, "you and me are going to be together now," he says. "We'll be a family."

"Scott," I say shaking my head. "It doesn't work that way. I don't love you. I love Joe, I think I have loved Joe all my life I was just too stubborn to realize it. Scott what we have can't be replaced," I say as I put Matthew down in his swing. "I love Joe and I am sorry if you can't handle that but you can't just come to my house and expect me to leave my husband for you."

"You left me for him," he says.

"We weren't together, Scott," I say. "Please tell me where Joe is, or I am going to call the police," I say as I pull out my cellphone.

He grabs my phone from me and says, "you aren't calling anyone, we're going to New York to live, you, me and the baby."

"No, Scott, I'm not, where is Joe?" I ask.

"It doesn't matter, Audrey," he says.

"But it does matter," I say. "Please."

"No, Audrey," he says as he comes closer to me, he forces himself on me, kissing me, "it doesn't matter." I push him away.

"Where is my husband?" I ask.

"Don't worry about him, Audrey, you and me can be together," he says coming toward me again before I push him away and he loses his temper. He lashes out at me, pushing me to the ground, yelling in rage, calling me a selfish bitch, I hear Matthew crying from his swing. Scott kicks me flat in the stomach, "if I can't have you, Audrey, no one can have you," he says.

"Scott, stop," I say as he kicks me again, "I'm pregnant." I place my hands over my stomach to protect my baby the best that I can before he kicks me again I cry out in pain as he pulls something out of his pocket. My eyes widen when I see the gun in his hand, he points it at me, "Scott, no. Please no."

"Audrey," he says with desperation in his voice, "I have loved you all these years, you broke my heart, we could have had a life together," he says, "we could have had it all but you took that from me," he says, "and if I can't have you no one should have you," he says keeping the gun pointed at me.

"Scott, please I have a son, please don't shoot me, please," I beg for my life as he stands over me. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have did what I did, I'm sorry," I apologize. "I'm sorry Please," I beg.

"I love you, Audrey, I will always love you," he says as he raises the gun to his head. I close my eyes and jump at the sound of a gunshot and his body is on the ground next to me, blood pouring onto our hardwood floor, I lose the vomit I was holding in and throw up. I stand up struggling to my feet. I have to find Joe, I hope that he didn't hurt him or kill him. I pick Matthew up out of the swing to comfort him before I phone the police calling for help.

I start searching the house for Joe, looking for him as I try to calm Matthew down as I talk to the operator until the police arrive. I hear banging coming from the closet and muffled screams. I open the closet door to see Joe bound and tied to a chair, bruising on his face, blood pouring from his head. "JOE!" I say dropping the phone, "JOE, are you all right?"

"Audrey," he says before he passes out.

"No, Joe, No," I say as I check for a pulse it's faint. I pick up the phone, tears in my eyes, "I need an ambulance it's my husband," I cry into the phone. "Quick!" I say. "Joe, please don't leave me, please, I need you, Matthew needs you and the baby needs you," I beg, I take his hand and hold it until the police and ambulance arrive.

I watch as the EMT's come into the house two of them go to Joe and two go to Scott, Scott is pronounced dead but Joe is still alive, I watch as they put Scott in a bodybag before wheeling him out of my house and I watch them put Joe on a stretcher, lifeless and unmoving. I am just hoping for the best. He doesn't look good. "Can I go with him?" I ask the police officer.

"Of course," he says, "we will get your statements tomorrow morning, is there anything you need for your baby?" he asks. "Because you're not going to be able to stay in the house for a couple days."

"I guess I need some clothes for him and clothes for myself," I say, "some diapers and a few bottles and my pump," I say.

"I will get that stuff for you and bring it to the hospital for you," he offers.

"Thank-you," I say before I hurry out the door with Joe, I climb into the back of the ambulance and we are off to the hospital as they are working their best to save him, keep him alive.

When we get to the hospital Joe is taken back right away and I am left in the waiting room with Matthew, the police officer arrives shortly after I call Joe's parents and my parents with a diaper bag for Matthew and a bag of things for me. I thank him as I wait for word on Joe and for our family to arrive. "Audrey," I hear Monica's voice, "what happened?" she asks.

"I don't even know," I say as Sika takes Matthew from me. "I have no idea I was at work, I came home and when I walked in the house it was dark. I just thought that he went to bed because he had a tough night with Matthew but when I got into the living room Scott was there," I say.

"Scott?" she asks, "who is Scott?"

"He's a man I used to have relations with," I say, "back in New York, he was in jail for 9 months, I have been trying to avoid him. He showed up at the restaurant a few weeks ago asking for my help. I never called him back hoping that he would go away but he was in my house tonight. He was drunk, aggressive talking about if he couldn't have me no one could, he kicked me in the stomach a few times, I begged him to stop because I am pregnant. Then he snapped, he pulled a gun out and had it pointed at me, I thought he was going to shoot me but then he shot himself," I say breaking down, "he shot himself."

"Oh, Audrey," she says wrapping her arms around me as I cry, "and the baby is everything okay with the baby?"

"I don't know, I am just so worried about Joe I haven't even been checked out," I say, "he went unresponsive shortly after I found him. He looks like Scott did a number on him."

"Audrey, you need to get checked out, you're pregnant," she says.

"I'm more worried about Joe," I say.

"Come on," she says walking me to the reception desk. "My daughter in law came in with Leati Anoa'i but she needs to be checked out, she was kicked in the stomach and she's pregnant is there a doctor that can check her out?"

The woman sitting at the reception desk says, "absolutely." She takes my information and gives me a hospital bracelet telling me a doctor will be with me shortly.

A few minutes later I am taken to the back to be checked out but still worried about Joe. I want to know if he is okay. Monica comes back with me while Sika keeps Matthew for me until my parents arrive. I managed to get Matthew to sleep after all the chaos of the evening time. I'm just thankful Scott didn't shoot Joe when he could have very easily. The doctor comes into the room as I am sitting in a gown waiting to be checked. "Hello, Ms. Romano," he says, "I am Dr. Tyler, I understand that you're pregnant and that you were kicked in the stomach earlier tonight?" he asks.

"Yes," I say.

"How far along would you say that you are?" he asks.

"6 weeks," I say, "I'm still pretty early in."

"Yes you are," he says, "have you experienced any cramping?"

"No," I say, "I haven't."

"All right, I want to do an ultrasound just to make sure the baby is all right."

"Okay," I say. He prepares me for the ultrasound and thankfully our baby appears on the screen. Tears of joy fill my eyes as I think of the little life that Joe and I created, how strong it is to withstand everything it went through tonight. I am grateful, this baby is definitely meant to be ours. Dr. Tyler does inform me that the next 48 hours are crucial as far as the pregnancy goes, he told me that anything could happen in the next 48 hours and if I experience any cramping to come back to the ER right away.

After I am checked and discharged Joe's doctor comes to find me. "Ms. Romano," he says. "I am Dr. Williams, I am the doctor in charge of your husband's case. Joe is currently in the ICU in a coma. He suffered head trauma from a blunt force tonight, broken ribs, a fractured jaw and right now he is in critical condition." Tears fill my eyes, "the next 24 hours are crucial," he says, "we're going to keep him monitored and we don't know the damage done to his brain until he wakes up to see if there is any permanent damage."

"He survived Leukemia," I say, "twice! He can't die from this," I say, "we have a son together, we have a baby on the way, he can't die not from this," I say with tears in my eyes.

"We are going to do the best that we can do," he says.

"Did you give him a cat scan?" I ask, "because I saw an episode of Grey's Anatomy where a cat scan could have saved Derek's life, did you give him a cat scan to make sure there's no swelling or bleeding in his brain?" I ask.

"There is some swelling but there is no bleeding," he says, "hopefully the swelling will go down in the next few hours," he says.

"Can I go see him?" I ask.

"Of course," he says.

The doctor leads me to Joe's room in the ICU and nothing could have prepared me for what I saw in front of me, he was bruised and battered, hooked up to all types of machines helping him breathe, monitoring his heart and monitoring him. The doctor leaves me alone with him, I walk over to him with tears in my eyes. I take his hand into mine. "Joe, I love you, I have loved you my whole life. I will love you the rest of my life. It's not time for you to go, Joe, you have so much life ahead of you. God brought you through leukemia twice for a reason not so that we could lose you. Matthew needs his dad, I need you and our new baby needs you. I don't want to face a life without you. I can't face a life without you. You are my best friend, Joe. Life without you is unfathomable. I wish I told you sooner that I love you then we would have had more time, but you and me we still have time, Joe. We have the restaurant and you have your WWE career, we have kids, Joe we have life to live together, please don't leave me," I cry, "please don't leave me." I beg.

 ***A/N: What did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.**


	34. Chapter 34

***First I want to thank everyone that has reviewed, followed, alerted and favorited Life as We Know It. It has been fun writing this story for you but unfortunately it has come to an end and this is the final chapter of Life As We Know It.***

 **MONTHS LATER:**

It's been nearly 6 months since the worst night of my life, since the worst time of my life the night I lost my husband. Shortly after Joe was admitted to the hospital and in the ICU he seized and had a stroke due to a brain bleed. I'll never forget the doctor coming to me telling me there was nothing more they could do for him, he suffered too much damage to his brain and it was irreversible. The only thing keeping him alive were the machines he was hooked up to. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know what to do, I fell to my knees, crying out in agony at the thought of living a life without Joe, knowing that the decision was up to me to keep him alive or to pull the plug on him. I have heard miracle stories where a machine kept someone alive for years and one day they miraculously recovered. I knew in my heart that Joe was never going to recover, he was never going to be the same again. He survived leukemia twice but I didn't understand how this, how Scott could take him away from me the way he did. Scott was a coward and took the easy way out there would never be any justice for Joe and it wasn't fair. Joe was a good man, he was a great husband, a great father and my best friend. Life without him has not been easy. I made the hardest decision of my life that night to pull the plug ending his life.

 _"Monica," I say to Joe's mom, "I don't know if I can make this decision. What if he recovers?"_

 _"Audrey," she says taking my hands, tears in her eyes, "he isn't going to recover the only thing keeping his heart beating, keeping his lungs breathing are the machines he's hooked up to. There is no brain activity, Audrey. I know this is a hard decision to make but you need to do what's best for Joe think about what's best for him."_

 _"I can't face a life without him, I don't want to live this life without him," I say tears blurring my eyes. "We have a life planned out, we have a son that is only 4 months old, I am 6 weeks pregnant. I need him, the kids need their dad," I say keeping myself from sobbing. "I love him, Monica and I don't want to face this life without him. How is Matthew going to remember his dad and how is this baby even going to know who their dad is? This isn't fair."_

 _"Life never is," she says embracing me in a hug, I hug her back as we cry together, "but I do respect whatever decision you make. You are his wife. We'll have to keep his memory alive for Matthew and the baby, we will never let them forget him."_

 _"I just wish it was different," I say, "it's not fair Scott did this to him, Scott did this and he won't even get justice. It's not fair. I hope Scott is burning in Hell right now for this. He deserves nothing less."_

 _"I know you're angry, Audrey, I'm angry too but being angry at Scott isn't saving Joe. Joe is suffering," she says, "it's time for you to make a decision."_

 _"I know," I say. "I don't know if I am ready to make this decision."_

 _"I know," she says, "but think about Joe and what he's going through."_

 _"I know," I say with a nod, tears streaming from my eyes knowing what I need to do._

 _I went to Joe's doctor and told him I was ready to make my decision because I knew in my heart that Joe would never recover because if I had the slightest bit of hope or there was the slightest chance he would recover I never would have made the decision to pull the plug. I filled out paperwork and then I am in the room looking at my lifeless husband. I hold Matthew in my arms as I kiss his chubby cheek. "Say bye to Daddy," I say to Matthew with tears in my eyes. I lean him down and he gives Joe a slobbery kiss. It breaks my heart knowing that Matthew will never play football with his father, he will never go to see his dad wrestle at a WWE show, he will never have that bond with his father that Joe wanted so bad. Our new baby will never know its father but by the pictures that will hang in the house and pictures on the internet. I'm not ready to say goodbye, not yet, not like this. "Joe, I'm sorry," I say taking his hand into mine. "I wish things were different, I wish things had been better for us. I will always go through life wishing that I told you I loved you sooner because I wasted so many years, so much time on the wrong people that I didn't see the man that God made for me was standing in front of me. If I had told you years ago that I loved you we might have had longer than a few months. I wanted years with you and I am not ready to face a life without you. You have always been there for me, when I needed someone to donate sperm so that I could have a child you so readily volunteered to be the father of my child and I knew that you loved me. I have not lied I know I have loved you my whole life and I wish I had told you sooner. Life was supposed to be you and me, our kids, happiness but without you I see no happiness my heart is always going to belong to you and I am always going to want to know what would have been if Scott wasn't an asshole. I love you, Joe, I love you so much, you gave me a happiness I never had before. I don't know what life is going to be like without you but I do know I am never going to forget you and I am going to make sure that our kids never forget you, that they know you. You get to be with Jordan now, when you get to him give him a kiss for me, tell him that we love him and I hope to one day meet both of you. I can't wait to see you again, Baby. I love you so much, I will always love you." I lean down and kiss his lips softly as the tears fall from my eyes thinking of the life we deserved to have together, the time we deserved to share, the life we wished for. The nurse looks at me and I nod giving her permission to turn off the machines. I watch her shut them off one by one, the tears blurring my eyes. The final machine turns off as I am holding Joe's hand, squeezing it tight, he squeezes back once and lets out his last breath, I find myself breaking down in sobs knowing he's gone._

Half a year passed since I said goodbye to my best friend, half a year since we had the funeral where he was buried in a local cemetery that I haven't visited once since the day we laid him to rest. It's too hard to go back, too hard to live in the pain of knowing everything we could have been. He's in my heart, I know that, I don't need to visit a cemetery or a grave to keep him in my heart and keep him alive to me. It was the hardest day of my life making that decision but I had no choice. It broke out into the WWE universe the next day that he had passed away, a lot believe it was from the leukemia but when I was ready to speak I told the truth how he was in remission, how he was going to come back to the ring in January but life happened tragically. The fans knew the truth of how Joe passed away and shortly after we buried him I left Pensacola to go to Hawaii to do some soul searching, to live a peaceful life with Matthew and remain stress free during my pregnancy because this baby is the last piece of Joe, the life we created together. Matthew hasn't even turned one yet but he is his father's twin, he is Joe through and through. I find myself staring at a mini-Joe every time I look at him, I see some of Joe's personality shine through Matthew how laid back he is, how caring he is and how loving he is. Joe was a good man, he was always laid back, always caring, always loving. He was everything to me and not a day goes by that I don't wish he was here with me, living with me, helping me with Matthew and especially today, the day he would have turned 36, May 25th and the day our baby girl is going to come into the world.

"All right, Audrey," says my doctor, "you can do this, give me one big push."

"Come on, Audrey," encourages Monica as she holds my hand in the delivery room. She flew to Hawaii to be with me today and to spend some time with me before she goes back to Pensacola. I look over at Joe's picture and smile before I push. The doctor and Monica continue to encourage me to push, to push harder.

I give one big push and soon the cries of mine and Joe's baby girl fill the room, tears stream from my eyes as the doctor holds her up to me, "It's a little girl," he says making me smile through my tears. I cry harder as they lay her on my chest, she's perfect, everything about her is perfect.

The nurse takes her from me to weigh her and measure her before cleaning her up. She returns her back to me wrapped in a pink blanket and a pink cap, "8lbs. 10 oz. and 20 inches long," she says as she hands her to me.

Tears fall from my eyes as I look into the perfect face of my baby girl, she's beautiful, her lips and mouth from her dad, the nose from her father and the dark hair poking out through her cap she is Joe. She's beautiful, she's perfect, the perfect creation, the remaining piece of Joe in my life. "Hey, baby girl," I say with a smile. "Welcome to the world." She lets out a little grunt and looks at me with her dark eyes that are thickly lashed. "I'm so glad to finally meet you. I am going to love you so much and your brother is going to love you so much. I love you already you're everything I wanted and your daddy he would have loved you, he does love you. He can't be here right now but I am sure you saw him before you came to me. He would love you, he loves you, he wanted you more than anything. Your daddy is in Heaven but he's also in your heart and I will never let you go through life without knowing who your daddy is, what he did and the person he was. He was the greatest man I ever met, he was the greatest father I knew. He loves you," I say with a smile before I kiss her forehead. I look over at Joe's picture and say, "we did it baby, we have a beautiful baby girl and I couldn't have done it without you. I am so blessed to have this perfection in my life between Matthew and our baby girl. I know you're here in our hearts, Baby. I couldn't have done today without you, happy birthday, Joe. And happy birthday Baby Girl," I say with a smile. I look up at Monica to see her crying. "Do you want to hold her?"

"Please," she says with a smile and tears in her eyes. I hand her to her. "She's so beautiful. She's perfect," she says. "Hey, Beautiful, she looks just like Matthew and they both look like Joe."

"I wouldn't want it any other way," I smile. "I want Joe to live through them, I want them to carry his legacy."

"Are you going to come back to Pensacola?" she asks as she rocks the baby.

I shake my head, "I can't, I don't want to go back to Pensacola. Joe and I loved it here in Hawaii, we were going to go to Hawaii again together but we never made it here. I found a peaceful life here and I love it. It's away from the chaos of the world. I love it here and I want to raise Matthew and the baby here," I say. "I know everyone wants me to come back to Pensacola but I can't, I can't live there, in the house my husband was murdered in to be reminded every day of the pain that I faced in that house. I am happy here. I feel connected to Joe here somehow."

"But he's buried in Pensacola," she says, "you never want to visit his grave?"

"I have no need, he's right here," I say touching my heart. "I don't need to go visit him in a cemetery when he's with me every day of my life. I'm sorry, Monica."

"I understand and what about the restaurant?" she asks.

"I gave it up that was something Joe and I wanted together but I opened Joe's Island Grille here to serve Hawaiian food to keep his memory alive, to keep him alive."

"I see," she says letting out a breath. "Joe would have been so happy with a baby girl."

"He is happy," I say with a smile. "I know I am happy."

"Yes," she says, "so what's her name?"

"I want to wait till Matthew meets her and until my parents meet her then I will announce her name."

"Okay," she says with a nod.

She hands the baby back to me and I smile before I feed her while she goes to get Sika, my parents and Matthew. Just as she finishes they walk into the room with balloons and gifts, telling me congratulations. I look at Matthew and smile as my mom holds him. "Come here big boy, come meet your baby sister," I say with a smile. My mom brings him over and puts him down on my bed. "Matthew, meet your baby sister." He reaches over and touches her head. "That's your sister," I say with tears in my eyes.

"She's beautiful," says my mom. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling good," I say with a smile.

"That's good," she says.

"Matthew, give the baby a kiss," I say with a smile. Matthew leans over and gives the baby a kiss making my heart melt. Matthew looks over at the picture of Joe and points, "that's daddy."

"Dadda," he says making me smile, "Dadda." He says again, his first word being Dadda. "Dadda."

"Yes, Dadda, he's right here," I say touching his heart. He looks at my hand and puts his chubby hand over mine. I do my best to keep from crying but it's too hard. Too hard knowing that my kids' father will always be in their hearts but never around for them to know personally but through stories and pictures, I kiss his cheek softly.

"So what's her name?" asks Monica.

I smile and say, "Josephine Leilani Anoa'i."

"That's so beautiful," she says with tears in her eyes.

"Josephine; the female version of Joseph meaning God increases and Leilani; the child of Heaven," I explain, "I spent months, weeks, days trying to find the perfect name for our daughter. I wanted her name to have some meaning, some reminisce of Joe so I chose Josephine and God gave her to me when he could have taken her away months ago, he increased our family and she is very much a child of Heaven as that's where her father is. It is special to me and I know that it would be just as special to Joe. Josephine Leilani, welcome to the world baby girl, I have so much to tell you about your name and your father but we have time for that. I love you so much," I say before kissing her cheek. Monica suggests that we do a family picture but I don't allow them to take it until Joe's picture is in it, Matthew holds Joe's picture in his hands as I hold Josephine in my arms. I smile for the picture realizing this is my life now, I will never love anyone like I love Joe, my heart is Joe's for an eternity, this is the life Josephine, Matthew and I will know, a life where their father lives in their hearts and mine, knowing him through stories and pictures but this life as tragic as it may be and as painful as it is to lose Joe, to go on in life without him I know that every day for the rest of my life he is going to be there through our children, alive throughout the island every time I hear the waves crash down, hear the breeze, I'll know it's him, know that he's there, that he will always be there in this life that we know.

 **THE END!**

 ***A/N: So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading. I just hope you don't hate me after that ending.**


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